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WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 



WALKS AND TALKS 
ABOUT BOSTON 

BY 
EDWARD J. O'BRIEN 

1916 CONVENTION 

NATIONAL WHOLESALE GROCERS 

ASSOCIATION 

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 



Boston, Mass. 

BALL PUBLISHING COMPANY 

1916 



- -^5 



Copyright 1916 
By Ball Publishing Co. 



4i)^. 



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JUN 16 1916 



PRESS OF MURRAY AND EMERY COMPANY 
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. 



©CI.A433393 



PREFACE 

Strangers have difficulty in finding tfieir way about 
Boston on account of the irregularity of its streets. 
It will help if it is borne in mind that Boston, like New 
York, was formerly a peninsula and that Washington 
Street traverses it lengthwise as Broadway does New York. 
The North Station, which is the terminal for trains from 
the north and east, is near the northern end, which begins 
at Haymarket Square. Canal Street, leading out of 
Haymarket Square, ends at the North Station. 

Leading at right angles from Washington Street, 
Summer Street brings one to the South Terminal 
Station, where trains from the south and west arrive 
and depart. Winter Street, directly opposite Summer 
Street, leads to Tremont Street, which runs parallel 
with Washington Street, and to Boston Common. On 
the Common, at the head of Winter Street, may be 
found the Park Street Subway Station, where cars may 
be taken for any part of the city or suburbs, either cUrectly 
or by transfer. 

Leading off Washington Street, at right angles, farther 
south, is Essex Street, which leads directly to the South 
Terminal Station. Opposite Essex Street is Bo^dston 
Street, which leads by the Common and Public Garden 
to the Back Bay District. 

The main line of the Tunnel and Elevated System runs 
under Washington Street from Forest Hills and Dudley 
Street to Sullivan Square, Charlestown, transferring at 
these points to surface cars. Crossing this line al right 



viii PREFACE 

angles at State Street is the line which starts at Chelsea 
and East Boston on the surface and running under the 
harbor emerges to the surface again on Cambridge Street 
and continues on the surface to Cambridge. 

Crossing the Washington Street Tunnel line at Summer 
Street are the trains running from the South Terminal 
Station to Harvard Square, Cambridge, and transferring 
at both ends to surface cars. This line is now under 
construction to South Boston and Dorchester, 



CONTENTS 

Page 

An Introductory Historical Sketch of Boston xi 

I A Walk through the Heart of the City — 

FROM THE New to the Old State House 1 

II Another Walk through the Heart of the 
City — from the Old State House to 
King's Chapel 27 

III A Walk through the North End and 

Charlestown 53 

IV A Walk around Boston Common and 

through the West End 69 

V A Walk across the Back Bay 87 

VI Other Boston Points of Interest 119 

VII A Walk about Cambridge and Harvard 

University 127 

VIII A Walk about Lexington and Concord. . . . 150 

Some Boston Churches 160 

Some Boston Hotels 165 

The Boston Theatres 167 

Index 169 



IX 



THE STATE HOUSE ILLUMINATED 

Walks and Talks About Boston 

AN INTRODUCTORY HISTORICAL 
SKETCH OF BOSTON 

The Rev. William Blackstone settled on the slope of 
Beacon Hill about 1625, and he invited the Colonists 
thither shortly afterward. The town was founded in 
1630 by Colonists under the leadership of John Winthrop, 
who took possession of the peninsula then distinguished 
by three hills, the highest of which, now Beacon Hill, 
had at that time three distinct peaks, whence the name 
''Trimountaine." In those days the peninsula, which 
contained less than eight hundred acres, was less than 
three miles long and a little more than a mile wide at the 
broadest point, and it was connected with the mainland 
by ''The Neck," a narrow strip of land, often flooded 
by tides, and about a mile long. The first church was 
erected a year after the founding of the town, and build- 
ings were erected here and there beside cowpaths and 
cart roads, until gradually streets evolved. This accounts 



xii WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

for the crooked and narrow streets in the old part of the 
city. 

Governor Winthrop purchased all rights to the pen- 
insula from Blackstone for thirty pounds. Inasmuch 
as the Puritans desired in founding the Colony to have a 
place where their religion should be supreme, church 
members only were allowed to vote for the first thirty 
years. 

After long and continuous contests with Antino- 
mians, Quakers, Baptists, and so-called witches, the note 
of toleration slowly became more and more evident. 
In 1692 the town had al:>out seven thousand inhabitants. 
It thereupon became the seat of government of a Royal 
Province. The Colonial Charter had been abnegated 
in 1686, and a viceregal court was now established. 
In 1703, the Boston News Letter, commonly considered 
the first newspaper in America, was published here. 
Opposition to British authority was manifested first 
as early as 1761, and the successive steps which led to the 
Revolution, as well as the Revolutionary history of Boston, 
are outlined with sufficient clearness in the walks which 
follow. 

Boston became a city in 1822. Its population then 
was about fifty thousand. The surrounding waters 
meanwhile had been largely filled in, thus doubling the 
city's area. Between 1865 and 1875, Roxbury, Dorchester, 
Charlestown, West Roxbury, and the Brighton district 
were annexed to the city. The year 1872 is remembered 
as the year of the last and greatest of the many devastat- 
ing fires which have swept through Boston periodically 
since its foundation. In this fire the wholesale section 
was almost entirely destroyed, and the loss was estimated 



INTRODUCTORY HLSTORICAL SKETCH xiii 

at about $75,000,000. The district is, of course, now 
completely rebuilt. In 1800, Boston had an assessed 
valuation of about $15,000,000. The present valuation 
is $1,129,000,000. The population of Boston is now 
670,585. 




THE SHAW MEMORIAL 



A WALK THROUGH THE HEART OF THE 

CITY — FROM THE NEW TO 

THE OLD STATE HOUSE 

Our first walk can begin in no more fitting manner than by a 
visit to the State House (1), whose gilded dome will easily guide 
the stranger to it. Mounting the long flight of steps from Beacon 
Street and the Common, and thus passing through John Hancock's 
cow pasture, he will have ample opportunity to admire the stately 
and generous proportions of its facade, erected in 1795-97 from 
the designs of Charles Bulfinch, New England's first notable archi- 
tect. On the left is a statue by Emma Stebbins of Horace Mann, 
who did so much for the cause of education in Massachusetts, and 
on the right one of Daniel Webster, by Hiram Powers. Crossing 
the spacious porch, from which an interesting bird's-eye view of the 
Common may be enjoyed, we enter the side door to the right, and 
turning to the left find ourselves in Doric Hall, the main hall in the 
"Bulfinch Front," as it is called, of the State House. Here, after 
his death, Charles Sumner lay in state and received pubUc homage. 
Facing us in the centre of the background is Sir Francis Chantrey's 
noble statue of Washington, flanked to right and left by two me- 
morial tablets in memory of Charles Bulfinch and of the preservation 
and renewal of the State House respectively. On side walls to the 
left and right of these are two facsimiles of the memorial stones 
over the tombs of Washington's great-great-grandfather and other 
members of the family, reproduced from the originals in the parish 
church of Brington, in Northamptonshire, England, and presented 
to the Commonwealth in 1861 by Charles Sumner, to whom in 

1 



2 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

turn they had been given by Earl Spencer. On the extreme left 
is Thomas Ball's statue of Governor John A. Andrew, who was 
chief executive of the Commonwealth during the Civil War, while 
on the extreme right is a memorial tablet to the memory of George 
Luther Stearns, the Boston merchant who was responsible for the 
organization of the colored troops which Colonel Shaw led to the 
war, and of whom Whittier has sung. The portraits of sixteen 
governors hang on the walls to left and right, over four cannon, 
two of which were captured in the War of 1812, and two of which 
are memorials to Major John Buttrick and Captain Isaac Davis, 
heroes of the Concord Fight on the 19th of April, 1775. On either 
wall are bronzes in memory of John Hancock and Abraham Lincoln. 
Before passing out of the Bulfinch Front of the State House, it is 
well to recall that here have spoken such orators as John Hancock, 
Samuel Adams, Fisher Ames, John Adams, John Quincy Adams, 
Daniel Webster, Charles Sumner, and Wendell Phillips, and that 
in these halls public receptions were given to Lafayette, Kossuth, 
and Edward VII, when Prince of Wales. 

A passageway leading from Doric Hall into Memorial Hall, and 
passing behind Chantrey's statue of Washington, contains a case 
which holds the flags carried by Massachusetts regiments in the 
Spanish-American War, and is lighted by a stained glass skyUght 
on which Liberty is represented, encompassed by the names of the 
chief republics. In front, directly opposite the battle flags, are 
life-size bronze reliefs of Rear Admiral Winslow and Brigadier- 
General Stevenson. Above, on the opposite wall at the head of 
the staircase, is a painting by Robert Reid of "James Otis Making 
His Famous Argument against the Writs of Assistance in the Old 
Town House in Boston, in February, 1761," with paintings of "Paul 
Revere's Ride" and "The Boston Tea Party," to left and right 
respectively. In our next walk, we shall visit the Council Chamber 
in the Old State House, where Otis's famous plea was made. To 
the right is Bela L. Pratt's fine bronze group, dedicated to the 
Army Nurses from 1861 to 1865. 

Let us now enter Memorial Hall, whose imposing circular interior 
of marble rises to a gallery and an impressively ornamented dome. 
Four alcoves cased in glass contain 274 battle flags carried in the 
Civil War by Massachusetts Volunteers. Above the gallery are 
four large paintings. Facing Doric Hall is Henry Oliver Walker's 



FROM THE NEW TO THE OLD STATE HOUSE 3 

painting of "The Pilgrims on the 'Mayflower'/' flanked by two 
paintings from the brush of Edward Simmons, — on the left, "Con- 
cord Bridge, April 19, 1775," and on the right, "The Return of 
the Colors to the Custody of the Commonwealth, December 22, 
1865." The fourth painting of "John Eliot Preaching to the 
Indians" is by Mr. Walker. The dome is lighted by stained glass, 
on which is represented the crest of the Commonwealth surrounded 
by the seals of the other twelve original States of the Union. The 
pillars which support the encircling gallery are of Siena marble. 

Beyond Memorial Hall is a passageway, with busts to left and 
right of Governors Greenhalge and Ames respectively, leading to 
the main staircase, which we shall mount, pausing on the landing 
to observe before us the stained glass windows which reproduce 
the various seals of the Colony. Turning upstairs to the right, 
we turn back down the long corridor and come to the lobby of the 
House of Representatives, which contains a statue of Governor 
Wolcott by Daniel C. French, a sculptor best known by his " Concord 
Minuteman." Opposite the Speaker's desk in the House is sus- 
pended the historic codfish. Crossing to the other side of the lobby, 
we find ourselves before the offices of the Secretary of the Com- 
monwealth. Here may be seen in cases the Colony and Province 
Charters of 1628 and 1692, George II's explanatory charter, and the 
original Constitution of the Commonwealth. 

Returning to the other side of the lobby, we ascend the stairs 
at the entrance to Representatives Hall, and halfway up the second 
flight come upon a small door, which is the entrance to the dome and 
cupola. To those who are undaunted by the 115 steps which 
must then be chmbed, an ascent to the cupola will amply repay 
the effort which it occasions, for a wonderful view may be had 
from its windows on a clear day. Indeed, there could be no better 
or easier way of becoming acquainted in a few moments with the 
general topographical features of the city. 

Let us then follow the example of Dean Stanley, who insisted 
upon mounting to the cupola of the State House dome before he saw 
anything else in Boston. It is lighted by four windows facing north, 
south, east, and west. Looking out first from the west window, 
opposite the head of the staircase, the picturesque West End is 
spread before us leading down the hill to the Charles River Basin, 
bounded by the embankments on the Boston and Cambridge 



4 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

shores, and by Harvard Bridge and the new Longfellow Bridge. 
The streets descending to the river from left to right are Beacon, 
Chestnut, Mount Vernon, Pinckney, and Revere Streets. Charles 
Street skirts the foot of the hill. Looking across the Charles River, 
we see the hills of Brookline, with Newton in the distance. Beacon 
Street divides the district known as the West End from that of the 
Back Bay. Skirting Beacon Street, we note the Public Garden 
with the Back Bay district beyond. From right to left the long 
streets starting from the Public Garden and parallel with Beacon 
Street are Marlborough Street, Commonwealth Avenue, Newbury 
Street, and Boylston Street. The cross streets are named in 
alphabetical order, Arlington, Berkeley, Clarendon Streets, etc. 
From Harvard Bridge, a great highway called Massachusetts Avenue 
crosses the city from right to left, and may be roughly said to 
form the southern boundary of the Back Bay district. In the near 
foreground Charles Street runs between the Public Garden and the 
Common, and meets Boylston Street at Park Square. On Boylston 
Street beside the Public Garden is the entrance to the Subway, 
an important point for the stranger to note. Beyond are Trinity 
Church and the dome of the Christian Science Church. 

From the south window we look out over the Common, and note 
two broad paths crossing it diagonally. The right-hand path is 
the famous ''Long Path" known to readers of "The Autocrat of 
the Breakfast Table." Skirting the Common on the left. Park 
Street descends the hill to Tremont Street. Opposite Park Street 
Church on the Common is the Park Street Station of the Subway. 
Tremont Street marks the boundary of the business district. 
Parallel to it runs W^ashington Street, the main shopping thorough- 
fare, reached by any of the cross streets running down from the 
Common. Looking out over the business centre, we may see 
South Boston in the distance, and to the right Roxbury, with 
Dorchester and the Blue Hills beyond. 

From the east window we look down upon the financial and 
industrial section of the city. The tallest skyscraper in the fore- 
ground is the Ames Building, at the foot of which nestles the Old 
State House. It is surpassed in height by the noble shaft of the 
Custom House Tower, also in the foreground. Beyond, stretching 
from left to right, is the water front of the city, and in the distance 
we may look out across the wide stretches of Boston Harbor, noting 



FROM THE NEW TO THE OLD STATE HOUSE 5 

its fortified islands. Immediately below us is the State House 
Park, with the Suffolk County Court House a httle beyond to the 
left. On the extreme left about a mile away is Christ Church, on 
Salem Street. 

From the north window we look out beyond the North Station 
to Charlestown and Bunker Hill Monument. 

Having thus fixed in our minds the main topographical features 
of Boston, let us descend to the fourth floor, and crossing the cor- 
ridor to the opposite side of the building we come to the archives 
containing, among other treasures, the original examinations and 
depositions of persons who had been accused of witchcraft, the 
military records of the Narragansett and French and Indian Wars, 
the Revolutionary muster and pay rolls, Franklin's letters from 
London as commissioner of Massachusetts, and General Gates's 
letter announcing Burgoyne's surrender. Descending the main 
staircase one flight and turning always to the left and down the 
corridor, we come to the door of the State Library, which contains 
about 125,000 volumes and is open to the public. Its chief treasure, 
the famous Bradford Manuscript, which has gained the popular 
misnomer of the "Log of the Mayflower," is to be seen in a glass 
case. It was returned to the Commonwealth by the Bishop of 
London in 1897. Coming out of the library, we may turn to the 
right and then to the left down the full length of the corridor, 
stopping at the visitors' gallery in Representatives Hall, if the 
Legislature happens to be in session. At the foot of the corridor, 
a staircase leads down to the executive rooms and the Senate Cham- 
ber. In the Governor's apartment are various important portraits, 
while niches in the Senate Chamber are filled with busts of distin- 
guished Americans. In the Senate Reception Room are the first 
guns captured from the British at the Battle of Lexington, the 
fowling-piece used by Captain John Parker, who was commander 
of the Lexington Minutemen, and a Hessian gun, sword, hat, and 
drum captured at the Battle of Bennington, and presented to the 
Commonwealth by Brigadier-General Stark. The portraits of 
twenty-two Governors, including John Winthrop, hang on the walls 
of the Chamber. On the floor above are the entrances to the visitors' 
gallery. Continuing down the staircase, which is of pavonazzo 
marble, we find ourselves at the rear of Doric Hall, and thence may 
leave the State House from the same door by which we entered. 



6 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

Directly before us as we descend the steps is the Shaw Memorial 
(2), celebrated in verse by Aldrich and other poets, but notably in 
William Vaughn Moody's noble "Ode in Time of Hesitation." It 
is one of Augustus Saint-Gaudens's masterpieces, and represents 
Col. Robert Gould Shaw at the head of his colored troops. His 
regiment was the first body of negro volunteers from Massachusetts, 
and he was killed on July 18, 1863, while leading an assault upon 
Fort Wagner, South Carolina. The stone setting of the memorial 
was designed by Charles F. McKim, and the inscriptions at the rear 
are from the pen of President-Emeritus Eliot of Harvard University. 

Let us now enter Bowdoin Street to the right of the State House as 
we face it, pausing to note, as we enter, the site abutting on Beacon 
Street where stood the house of Hawthorne's Major Molineux 
(3). Facing Beacon Street, in front of the new marble wing of the 
State House, is an equestrian statue of Major-General Hooker 
(4), by Daniel C. French and Edward C. Potter. Passing down 
Bowdoin Street we shall be able to gain an idea of the successive 
additions to the State House. The original Bulfinch Front was 
completed in 1798. Three years earlier the corner stone had been 
laid with Masonic ceremonies, at which Paul Revere presided and 
Samuel Adams, then Governor, delivered an oration. An addition 
which extended to Mount Vernon Street was built in 1853-56, with 
J. G. F. Bryant as architect, and in 1889-95, the State House 
Annex in the rear was built from the plans of Charles E. Brigham. 
The marble wing on the right was completed in 1915, and another 
wing on the left is in process of erection now in 1916. The Bulfinch 
Front meanwhile was renovated, and the cupola rebuilt in accord- 
ance with Bulfinch's designs. The gilding on the dome dates from 
1874, and at night the dome is lit by circling rows of electric lights. 

Before 1811, the summit of Beacon Hill rose directly behind the 
Bulfinch Front in the shape of a cone very nearly as high as the dome. 
On its summit a beacon was set in 1634, thus supplying the hill 
with its present name, though at first it was known as Gentry Hill. 
The beacon, which was designed to warn the surrounding country 
in time of danger, was destroyed by the British during the Siege 
of Boston and replaced by a fort, but after the siege it was restored 
and lasted till 1789. On the summit of the peak, the first Inde- 
pendence Monument in the United States, designed by Bulfinch, 
was set up in 1790-91, but it was destroyed for the most part when 



FROM THE NEW TO THE OLD STATE HOUSE 9 

this peak was cut away in 1811-23. Only the tablets and the eagle 
which surmounted it were preserved. The latter is now to be seen 
over the President's chair in the Senate Chamber, while the former 
have been inserted in the new Bulfinch monument (5), erected 
in 1898 near the site of its predecessor, of which it is an exact copy. 
The park also includes statues of Major- General Devens (6) 
and of Major-General Banks (7). 

Following Bowdoin Street to Ashburton Place, we turn down 
the latter street, passing Ford Hall (8) on the left. Here, on the 
endowment of Daniel Sharp Ford, a civic forum is held regularly 
during the season, for the free discussion of civic, political, and 
ethical matters, and many noted speakers address the gatherings. 
The adjoining passageway marks the site of No. 13 (9), where 
Henry James and his father lived at the close of the Civil War. 
No. 11 is the home of the Boston University School of Law (10). 
At No. 9 are the rooms of the New England Historic Genealogical 
Society (11), with a library of 50,000 volumes and more than 100,000 
pamphlets. It has many interesting portraits, prints, and his- 
torical relics, and is open to the public daily from nine to five, except 
Saturday afternoons and Sundays. At No. 3 Ashburton Place (12) 
Jared Sparks, Horace Mann and his wife, and Hawthorne's wife 
boarded in the 1830's with Mrs. Rebecca Parker Clarke, mother of 
James Freeman Clarke. The tall building on the right at the foot of 
Ashburton Place is the home of the Boston City Club (13) erected 
in 1913. This club has a membership of 6000 and a waiting list of 
over 500. The main dining-room is on the eleventh floor and the grill 
room one floor below the Somerset Street level. The bowling alley 
is one floor below the griU. There are several smaller dining-rooms 
and an auditorium seating about 1200. There are sleeping rooms 
for permanent and temporary occupancy of members. The club 
includes in its membership many of Boston's leading citizens. 
It is non-political. On Thursday evenings, during the winter, 
dinners are given having usually for a guest some man large in the 
pubHc eye at the time. The club has for its motto: ''This Club 
is founded in the spirit of good fellowship and every member of the 
Club knows every other member without an introduction." 

Facing Ashburton Place is the Suffolk County Court House (14), 
worth entering that we may admire its sumptuous interior and 
French's fine statue of Rufus Choate in the lower corridor on the left. 



10 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

Continuing down Somerset Street to the right, we pass on the 
right the home of B. P. O. Elks, turn into Beacon Street, and climb 
the hill, only pausing to note that the tall office building on the upper 
corner of Tremont Place (No. 6 Beacon Street) marks the site of 
Edward Everett Hale's boyhood home (15). Passing the 
Hotel Bellevue (16), where Louisa M. Alcott always stayed when 
visiting Boston, we approach the Boston Athenaeum (17) on 
the opposite side of the street, a proprietary library which is one 
of Boston's most characteristic institutions. Originating in 1807 
as a small library founded by the ** Anthology Club," a literary 
organization whose members Avere connected with a magazine 
called "The Monthly Anthology," it was first located in Congress 
Street, later in Pearl Street, and since 1849 has been located in the 
present building, which was completely remodelled and largely 
extended in 1914 and 1915. Among its treasures is a large part 
of Washington's private library. It has particularly strong col- 
lections of Washingtoniana, United States documents, Confederate 
literature, early newspapers, and works on international law. Its 
large and valuable art collection formed the nucleus of the Museum 
of Fine Arts, and has for the most part been transferred to the 
Museum galleries. 

The history of the Athenaeum is distinguished. Among its 
shareholders have been Webster, Sumner, Prescott, Parkman, 
and Holmes, and in large measure the inception of the ''North 
American Review" may be laid to its credit. Among the records 
of the institution may be found a list of the volumes which Emerson 
drew from it, and which represent substantially all that Emerson 
read apart from the contents of his private library. Next to the 
"Atlantic Monthly," the Boston Athenseum is perhaps the most 
concrete surviving symbol of New England nineteenth century 
culture. In the corridor and on the staircases are many interesting 
paintings, statues, and busts which are open to public inspection, 
while in the upper reading room the favored visitor may see the 
tables at which Emerson, Sumner, Parkman, and Hale worked 
regularly. The library itself is not open to the public, but is owned 
by over a thousand shareholders. Every courtesy, however, is 
extended to accredited scholars who wish to consult its special 
collections. 

Continuing down Beacon Street, we pass the Congregational 




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FROM THE NEW TO THE OLD STATE HOUSE 13 

Building (18) on our left, in which is a library with treasures of 
interest to the visitor. Almost opposite is the Unitarian Building 
(19), built on the site of the old Bo wdoin mansion, where General 
Burgoyne was quartered during the siege. A step or two brings 
us to Park Street, formerly Gentry Street, and we descend the hill. 

No. 9 Park Street was the home of George Ticknor (20), 
where he wrote his "History of Spanish Literature." Here Lafayette 
stayed in 1824, and it was from this house that Fisher Ames was 
buried. The building has many other interesting associations, and 
was long a rallying place for literary Boston. No. 8 is the home 
of the Union Club (21), a society established during the Givil 
War that it might aid the LTnion cause. Edward Everett was its 
first president. In No. 4 are the former offices of the " Atlantic 
Monthly " (22). The editorial rooms, with so many literary asso- 
ciations, are in the rear of the second story, looking out upon the 
Granary Burying Ground. In 1914 the "Atlantic Monthly" moved 
to No. 3 Park Street. No. 2 was the last Boston home of John 
Prescott Motley (23) before his appointment as United States 
Minister to England. 

At the foot of the hill we come to Park Street Church (24), 
which was built in 1809 from the designs of an English architect. 
It occupies the site of the public granary in Colonial days, and it 
may be noted in passing that the Park Street slope before 1805 
was bordered by the almshouse, workhouse, and bridewell, while 
originally all this land was part of the Common. In this church, 
on the 4th of July, 1829, William Lloyd Garrison gave his first 
Boston anti-slavery address, and just three years later "America" 
was here sung publicly for the first time. Here also in 1849 Charles 
Sumner delivered his famous address on "The War System of 
Nations." The corner of Park and Tremont Streets gained the 
name of "Brimstone Corner" from the fier\^ sermons preached 
from its pulpit by opponents of Unitarianism, and its Civil War 
sermons became famous. The basement has been successively a 
crypt, a schoolroom, and a store. In 1914 the church was renovated 
and restored as nearly as possible, save for the basement, to its 
original appearance. 

Rounding the corner, we turn into Tremont Street (so called from 
the old name of Boston, Trimountaine), and approach the Granary 
Burying Ground, which adjoins Park Street Church. At the foot 



14 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

of Hamilton Place is the site of Music Hall (25), now the Orpheum, 
a vaudeville theatre, but formerly Theodore Parker's pulpit, and 
later the first home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. 

The Granary Burying Ground (26), which is open to the public, 
was established in 1660, and was the second cemetery in Boston. 
As we skirt the iron railing we pass a boulder marking the grave 
of James Otis (27), the famous Revolutionary patriot and orator, 
whose argument against Writs of Assistance is historic. Two or 
three yards beyond is the stone which marks the grave of Benjamin 
Woodbridge (28), a young man who was killed in a due) on Boston 
Common in 1727, and who is the subject of the Autocrat's musings 
in his walk with the Schoolmistress. Entering the burying ground, 
let us first direct o\u- steps to the granite ol^elisk which marks the 
last resting place of Benjamin Franklin's parents (29), and 
note the inscription on the tablet, composed by the philosopher 
himself. A cross path to the left brings us near to the tall shaft 
almost imder the window of Aldrich's former "Atlantic" study, 
which marks the tomb of John Hancock (30). In the adjoining 
Minot tomb formerly lay the remains of Genera) Joseph Warren, 
which now rest in Poorest Hills Cemetery. Continuing up the 
side of the ))urying ground, we pass Governor James Bowdoin's 
tomb (31), and come to that of Peter Faneuil (32), the builder 
and donor of Faneuil Hall. It lies close up under the wall of a 
modern office building. Along this side of the cemetery a path 
runs across the burying ground, and midway between the Faneui) 
tomb and the rear of the Athenaeum we come to the grave of Paul 
Revere (33). A little below to the southeast is the tomb of Chief 
Justice Samuel Sewell, noted for his diary, and John Hull the 
mintmaster (34), who made the famous pine-tree shiJlings and 
gave his daughter her weight in these shillings as a dowry when 
she married Sewell. Somewhat to the right, a sharp eye can detect 
the grave of Ezekiel Gheever (35), the famous old Colonial master 
of the Boston Latin School. Beyond Paul Revere's tomb we come 
to that of Governor Richard Bellingham (36), almost under the 
eaves of the Athenaeum, and somewhat to the right by the north 
wall of the cemetery is the tomb of John Endicott (37) . By this 
wall of the cemetery, not far from Tremont Street, is the last resting 
place of Robert Treat Paine (38), signer of the Declaration of 
Independence. Turning back towards the Franklin monument, 



FROM THE NEW TO THE OLD STATE HOUSE 15 

we descend the slope, pausing just before we come to the obehsk 
to step down a httle path which runs off to the left for a yard or 
two, and stops before the grave of Mary Goose (39), by some 
supposed to be the ''^Mother Goose" of nursery fame. As we leave 
the cemetery, we turn to the left, and notice, as we pass, three graves. 
The first stone close to the sidewalk and just beyond the gate is 
that of John Phillips (40), the father of Wendell Philhps and the 
first mayor of Boston. His son lay beside him for two years, but 
is now buried in Milton. A little beyond is a stone marking ap- 
proximately the grave of the victims of the Boston Massacre 
(41), while next to it is a boulder placed over the tomb of Samuel 
Adams (42), signer of the Declaration of Independence, Revolu- 
tionary leader and patriot, and Governor of Massachusetts. In 
this burying ground also lie the remains of Governors Dummer, 
Increase Sumner, Sullivan, and Gore, and of various members of 
the Boston Tea Party, and Revolutionary officers and men. Fre- 
cjuently the graves in this and other Boston burying grounds are 
very difficult to identify, as many years ago the stones were shifted 
by an administration with a passion for order, and arranged in 
symmetrical rows to gratify the eye, — a piece of vandahsm which 
called forth Dr. Holmes's wrath in "The Autocrat of the Break- 
fast Table." 

On Bosworth Street, by the way, which opens off Tremont Street 
opposite the burying ground, was "the house at the left hand next 
the farther corner," described by Dr. Holmes in "My First Walk 
with the Schoolmistress," which was the residence of the Autocrat 
(43) from 1841 to 1859. 

A little below Bosworth Street we pass Tremont Temple (44), 
the home of an independent Baptist organization. The present 
building is the fourth temple on the site. Here formerly stood the 
old Tremont Theatre where Charlotte Cushman made her debut, 
and in the second Tremont Temple on this site Charles Dickens 
gave his public readings during his last American tour in 1868. 

Just beyond is the Parker House (45), a famous hostelry. Here 
formerly met the Saturday Club, at whose board every Boston 
literary man of significance at one time or another has been seated. 
The Tremont Street front of the hotel covers the site of Edward 
Everett Hale's birthplace. 

Opposite this hotel is the Tremont Building, on the site of the 



16 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

Tremont House (46), where Dickens, Thackeray, Clay, Jackson, 
Jenny Lind, and the Prince of Wales have been guests. Webster 
stayed here when he came to Boston, and here he wrote some of 
his famous speeches. Here also in the early forties met the Jacobin 
Club, a group of radical thinkers and literary men. Just beyond 
the further corner of Beacon Street, where a great department store 
now stands, was the residence of Governor Bellingham (47) 
in the seventeenth century, and here a hundred years later was 
the magnificent mansion of Peter Faneuil. 

King's Chapel (48), "that shocks our echoes with the names 
of kings,'' is on the north corner of School Street, and was built 
in 1754, succeeding an earlier chapel on the same site. Built in 
the old English tradition from the plans of Peter Harrison, it pre- 
serves in its columned interior, adorned with monuments and 
tablets, a distinct flavor of the past. The visitor will note a tablet 
in memory of Oliver Wendell Holmes, while various mural tablets 
of Provincial memory are to be seen. The original wooden chapel 
was built on a portion of the adjoining burying ground which Sir 
Edmund Andros had seized in 1688. The portico of the present 
edifice dates from 1789. This chapel was the official house of 
worship for the Colonial Governors and their suites, the Loyalists, 
and the British army. On the walls hung the royal escutcheons, 
and William and Mary presented the chapel with a communion 
service. The communion table of 1688 is still used. The tall 
pulpit, reached by winding stairs, and the high-backed pews still 
quaintly remind the visitor of Colonial days. On top of the pulpit 
there was formerly an hourglass to mark the length of the sermons. 
At the time of the evacuation the rector of the chapel sailed for 
Halifax, taking with him the church plate, register, and vestments. 
After the Battle of Bunker Hill the funeral services for General 
Warren were conducted in the chapel. The edifice subsequently 
became the first Unitarian church in America, and its congregation 
is now of that denomination. Very nearly on this spot, according 
to Hawthorne, dwelt Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth, 

Adjoining the chapel to the north is the King's Chapel Burying 
Ground (49), the first cemetery in Boston. The exact date when 
it was established is unknown, but it must have been very shortly 
after the beginning of the settlement. In the centre of the ground 
is the tomb of William Dawes (50), who was the first messenger 




17 



FROM THE NEW TO THE OLD STATE HOUSE 19 

sent by Warren to Lexington to warn Hancock and Adams before 
the battle. Near by is the tomb of John Winslow and his wife 
Mary Chilton (51), who came over on the " ^Mayflower." Clus- 
tered together in the northwest corner of the ground are the last 
resting places of Governor John Leverett (52), JohnWinthrop, 
the first Governor, and probably of his wife Margaret Winthrop 
(53), as well as of other distinguished members of the Winthrop 
family, and of the Rev. John Cotton and other pastors of 
the First Church (54). Midway along the north wall of the 
burying ground is the tomb of Robert Keayne (55), first captain 
of the "Military Company" which later became the Ancient and 
Honorable Artillery Company, and the donor of the first town hall 
in Boston and the first public library in America. Somewhat 
below along this wall is the monument marking the tomb in which 
Lady Anne Andros is buried (56). If we cross now to the other 
side of the burying ground, and pass under the rear of King's 
Chapel toward School Street, we shall come to the last resting 
place of Thomas Melville (56A), who, it will be remembered, was 
the inspiration of Holmes's "The Last Leaf." Others who lie 
buried in this ground are the Shirleys, well known to readers of 
"Agnes Surriage," Governor John Endicott, and Charles Bulfinch, 
the architect of the State House. Hawthorne, moreover, tells us in 
"The Scarlet Letter" that here lie buried Arthur Dimmesdale 
and Hester Prynne, and zealous antiquarians would identify Hester 
Prynne's grave (57) with that of Elizabeth Pain, which is in the 
shade of King's Chapel. Burials in this ground were discontinued 
in 1796. 

On Tremont Street, a little below the burying ground, is the site 
of the Boston Museum (58), torn down in 1903. It was a famous 
theatre in its day because of its excellent stock company. William 
Warren, the great comedian, was connected with it for forty years, 
and it was here that Edwin Booth first appeared on the stage, and 
that Edward H. Sothern acquired much of his dramatic training. 
It acquired its name from the fact that at first it was a museum of 
curiosities, to which the theatre, called "the lecture hall," was 
merely adjunct. Thus were the consciences of those who did not 
believe it right to go to a theatre quieted, and for a long time it 
was laughingly called "The Orthodox Theatre." 

Nearly opposite at 17 Tremont Street (59) is a building wherein 



20 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

on September 30, 1846, Dr. William T. G. Morton first successfully 
demonstrated the usefulness of ether as an anaesthetic in dental 
operations. Very nearly on this site was the house of the Rev. 
John Cotton (60), set up in 1633. It subsequently belonged to 
John Hull, the mintmaster, and to his son-in-law, Chief Justice 
Samuel Sewell. In 1790 the estate was owned by Patrick Jeffrey, 
Lord Jeffrey's uncle. Adjoining it was Sir Harry Vane's house, 
dating from 1635. The slope of the hill climbed by Pemberton 
Square belonged to the Cotton estate, and was formerly called 
Cotton Hill. 

We now find ourselves in Scollay Square. The building on the 
right-hand corner of Gornhill (60A) occupies a site for which a 
curious lease was given in 1817. It was for the term of one 
thousand years and the yearly rental is specified as "a ton of the 
first quality Russian old Sables Iron." A little north of where 
the Subway station now stands is the site of the first free writing 
school (61), established in 1683-84, which continued in use till 
after the Revolution. It was the second school in Boston. 
Near by, at the head of Cornhill, formerly stood the Royal Custom 
House (62), of which Sir Harry Frankland was collector. There 
was afterwards a dwelling on the site, and here Washington lodged, 
and Daniel Webster had an office. On Court Street, between 
Cornhill and Brattle Street, was the residence of CoL John Trum- 
bull (63), which was afterwards occupied by Copley, the painter. 
Not far off stood the studio of John Smibert, the portrait painter 
who was Copley's teacher, while somewhere along the upper side 
of Tremont Row it is conjectured that John Endicott's house for- 
merly stood. The exact location is unknown, but it was probably 
near Howard Street. 

Turning down Court Street to the right (first known as Prison 
Lane, and later as Queen Street), we come to the Boston City Hall 
Annex on the site of the Old Court House (64), one of the most 
interesting historic spots in Boston. Here formerly stood the old 
Colonial prison, built in 1642, wherein the Quakers and those accused 
of witchcraft were imprisoned, and where Hawthorne tells us that 
Hester Prynne was confined. Captain Kidd was imprisoned here 
in 1699. The Old Court House, which stood here until 1911, was 
designed by Solomon Willard, the architect of Bunker Hill Monu- 
ment, built in 1836, and had itself seen history, for here in February, 



FROM THE NEW TO THE OLD STATE HOUSE 21 

1851, took place the rescue of Shadrach, which was followed by the 
Thomas Sims fugitive slave case, while it was also here that the 
famous Anthony Burns riot occurred in May, 1854, which caused 
indictments to be brought against Wendell Phillirs, Frank B. 
Sanborn, Theodore Parker, Thomas Went worth Higginson, and 
others for "obstructing the process of the United States." 

Opening out of Court Square on the left is an alleyway known 
to all the newsboys as "Pie Alley," because of its many friendly, 
cheap eating houses. Here is the Bell-in-Hand Tavern (64A), 
with an interesting tavern sign. 

Almost opposite the City Hall Annex, a narrow passage called 
Franklin Avenue (formerly Dasset Alley), opens off Court Street. 
On the left-hand corner of this alley was the chief rendezvous of 
the Boston Tea Party (65), in what was then the printing office 
of Edes and Gill. Here in a back room many of the party donned 
their disguises. On the right-hand corner of the alley was James 
Franklin's printing office (66), where his brother Benjamin 
was apprenticed and learned the printer's trade. Here the New 
England Courant was issued, the fourth newspaper to appear in 
America. It will be recalled that Frankhn edited it while his 
brother was in prison. The site is now marked by a tablet. 

Turning down Franklin Avenue, crossing Cornhill (first known as 
Cheapside, and later as Market Street), and descending a flight of 
steps, we come to Brattle Street. Directly opposite is Brattle 
Square, on the upper corner of which is the Quincy House, on the 
site of the first Quaker meeting house (67), built of brick in 
1697. Opposite the Quincy House, on Brattle Square, formerly 
stood the historic Brattle Square Church (68), opened in 1773, 
which was removed in 1871. On its front might have been seen a 
cannon ball, which had been discharged by a Revolutionary battery 
in Cambridge on the night of the evacuation of Boston. During 
the siege it was used by the British soldiery for barracks, and the 
pews bore bayonet scars. Hancock, Warren, and Bowdoin belonged 
to its congregation, and Everett and Palfrey have preached here. 
Just below, on Brattle Street, is the site of Murray's Barracks 
(69), in which the British regiment was quartered which rendered 
itself most obnoxious to the townfolk, and here the quarrel began 
which ended in the Boston Massacre. 

Let us retrace our steps as far as Cornhill, and descend that 



22 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

curiously curved street. On the site of No. 25 was the office of 
William Lloyd Garrison (70). It was removed later to No. 21, 
the building in which "The Liberator" was published (71) 

until it was discontinued. No. 11 (72) is on the site of the building 
in which Elias Howe first conceived the idea of the sewing machine, 
while at No. 3 (73) "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was first printed. Corn- 
hill is now a street of second-hand bookstores, but in the middle 
of the last century it was the street of pul)lishers, as readers of Dr. 
Holmes will remember. 

Just north of the foot of Cornhill, on Washington Street, is the 
site of Benjamin Edes's house (74), where several leaders of the 
Boston Tea Party met on the afternoon before that event. The 
punch bowl used on this occasion is now owned by the Massachusetts 
Historical Society. 

We are now in Adams Square (75), named after Samuel Adams, 
a fine statue of whom, by Anne Whitney, is in the centre of the square. 
The eastern portion of Adams Square has always been known as 
Dock Square, for in early days an inlet of the harbor extended up 
thus far to the Town Dock (76), on the eastern side of the square. 
The site of the dock's head is now occupied by a group of low 
buildings. 

A few steps will bring us to Faneuil Hall (77), the ''Cradle of 
American Liberty." The original building was enlarged by Charles 
Bulfinch, the architect of the State House, who added a story and 
doubled its width in 1805. He was also responsible for the galleries 
and the platform. In 1898 the entire building was reconstructed 
with fireproof materials. The original building was presented 
to the town in 1742 by Peter Faneuil, a wealthy Boston merchant, 
but was destroyed by fire in 1762. It was, however, rebuilt at once. 
The architect of the original building was John Smibert, a celebrated 
Boston portrait painter and Copley's teacher. It was originally 
built as a market house, and the idea of including in it a public hall 
was an afterthought. Completed in 1742, the first public meeting 
held in it was to commemorate Peter Faneuil's death. 

The second Faneuil Hall was built by the town largely from the 
proceeds of a lottery, and dedicated to the cause of liberty on March 
14, 1763, by an oration delivered by James Otis. Here soon after 
were held many town meetings to discuss the matter of justifiable 
resistance, and these kept the spirit of liberty ahve. The hall was 



FROM THE NEW TO THE OLD STATE HOUSE 23 

illuminated in 1766, when the news came that the Stamp Act was 
repealed. Two years later the hall was used as a barracks for 
British soldiers. Here also in 1772, at the motion of Samuel Adams, 
the Boston Committee of Correspondence was founded, 'Ho state 
the rights of the colonists," and to act as one of a series of committees 
in everv town which should act as agents of mutual action and 
communication in the interests of the Colonies. In the followmg 
year the committees of the neighboring towns frequently met 
here to confer with the Boston Committee. During the siege, the 
British turned the hall into a theatre, and here "The Blockade of 
Boston," a farce by General Burgoyne, was acted by the soldiers 
to a Tory audience. Here in 1826 Daniel Webster delivered his 
famous eulogv on Adams and Jefferson; in 1837 and in 1845, Wendell 
Phillips and Charles Sumner respectively made their first speeches 
against slavery; in 1846, the anti-slavery Vigilance Committee was 
established; and in 1854 it was in this hall that the signal was given 
for the Anthony Burns fugitive slave riot. Pubhc receptions were 
given here to"^ Washington, D'Estaing, Lafayette, Kng Loms 
Philippe, the Prince de Joinville, Jerome Bonaparte, Talleyrand, 
Lords Ashburton and Elgin, and Louis Kossuth; while such orators 
as James Otis, William EUery Channing, Daniel Webster, Charles 
Sumner, William Lloyd Garrison, Edward Everett, Wendell Phillips, 
and Jefferson Davis have spoken from its platform. 

The ground floor, as always, is used for a market. The haU 
above, open to the public from ten to four daily, except Saturdays 
and Sundays, has very much the appearance of the original haU, 
though it has been completely restored. Around the walls are 
hung many interesting portraits, for the most part copies of originals 
to be seen in the Museum of Fine Arts. Over the platform hangs 
a painting of "Webster's Reply to Hayne," by G. P. A. Healey. 
On the fourth floor is the armory and historical collection of the 
Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, open to the public, 
and containing the banners of the company and many portraits 
and rehcs of interest. The gilded grasshopper on the cupola of 
Faneuil Hall is a restoration of the original copper grasshopper 
made in 1742 by Deacon Shem Drowne, who will be remembered 
by lovers of Hawthorne. 

East of Faneuil Hall is the great Quincy Market (78), named 
after Mayor Josiah Quincy, who was responsible for reclaiming the 



24 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

neighborhood from tidal flats, and laying out streets in 1825-26. On 
the south side of Faneuil Hall is a curiously curved street known as 
Corn Court, which extends to Merchants Row. Here is the site 
of the Hancock Tavern (79) , destroyed in 1903, and an interesting 
historic landmark. First known in the early days of the eighteenth 
century as the Brazier Inn, it became the Hancock Tavern when 
John Hancock was appointed Governor of Massachusetts. Here 
Talleyrand and the exiled King Louis Philipjie lodged, as well as 
Father Cheverus, later the first Catholic Bishop of Boston. The 
original tavern sign is now preserved in the Old State House. Near 
the east end of Faneuil Hall is the site of John Hancock's store 
(80). 

A few steps down Change Avenue l)rings us to State Street, 
formerly King Street, and the scene of the Boston Massacre of 
1770 (81), marked by a circle on the pavement in front of No. 
28 State Street. On the lower corner of Exchange and State Streets 
was the Royal Custom House (82). A crowd of men and boys 
attacked the sentinel, and from this small beginning developed the 
Massacre. The upper corner of Exchange Street is the site of the 
Royal Exchange Tavern (83), built in the early part of the eigh- 
teenth century, where the quarrel took place leading to the first 
duel in Boston, which was fought on the Common, and in which 
Benjamin Woodbridge was killed. Just above Exchange Street 
is the Old State House, at which we shall begin our next walk. 




25 




A SECTION OF THE WATERFRONT 
II 

ANOTHER WALK THROUGH THE HEART OF 

THE CITY— FROM THE OLD STATE 

HOUSE TO KING'S CHAPEL 

The Old State House (1) was built in 1748, though its outer 
walls are a survival from an earlier structure built in 1712-13. On 
this site stood the first town house, built in 1657, in the market- 
place, where Hawthorne, in "The Scarlet Letter, " tells us that Hester 
Prynne exhibited herself with her baby in her arms. The scaffold 
(2), where Arthur Dimmesdale made his disclosure, stood before the 
site of the present Rogers Building. But to return to the Old State 
House, which has also served as Town House, Court House, Province 
Court House, and City Hall. The building has suffered much in 
the past from the vandalism of the city authorities, who ahered it 
in various ways for business purposes, and in 1881 there was serious 
question of its removal in order that street improvements might 
be made. Public agitation resulted in the preservation of the 
building, and in the following year it was more or less restored to 
its original provincial appearance, a restoration which was still 
further carried out in 1909. The East Boston Tunnel Station 
below it necessitated certain unfortunate alterations a few years 
ago. The building is now open to the public daily, except Sundays, 
from nine to half-past four (Saturdays, half-past nine to four), 
and contains an historical collection of the greatest importance 
and interest gathered by the Bostonian Society, whose members 
have done much to identify historic landmarks and sites. 

The first town house was built in 1659, according to the provisions 

27 



28 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

in the will of Capt. Robert Keayne, the first commander of the 
Ancient and Honorable Artillery Society, — a will which also led 
to the germ of the first pul^lic library in America. The original 
town house was burnt in the great fire of 1711, and a brick building 
was erected on the site two years later. Surrounded by bookstores 
and containing this "public library," it was thus early, as the late 
Edwin M. Bacon pointed out, the literary centre of the country. 
In 1768 a British regiment was quartered in the building, and it 
was here that Generals Gage, Howe, and Clinton held their councils 
of war. D'Estaing and the officers of the French fleet were received 
here during the Revolution. From 1780 to 1798 the building was 
used as the State House. 

Let us enter the building by the south door. In 1835 William 
Lloyd Garrison escaped from the fury of a mob by entering at this 
door and passing through and out the opposite door to a carriage 
on the other side of the building. In Whitmore Hall, to the right, 
is a valuable collection of portraits, maps, and views of old Boston, 
and of historic relics. Among the most interesting exhibitions 
is the Melville collection, including the last cocked hat worn in 
Boston, which belonged to Thomas Melville, celebrated by Holmes 
in his poem, "The Last Leaf." Melville was a member of the 
Boston Tea Party, and the tea found in his shoes after the event 
is also to be seen. In this hall are rifles carried during the Revolu- 
tion, notably at Bunker Hill; Daniel Webster's razor; the iron 
scaffold hook from which John Brown was hanged; and the original 
autograph list of subscribers to the first town house in 1657. 

Robert Keayne Hall, on the opposite side of the building, contains 
an important marine collection. 

In the hall of the floor above are portraits and views, and suspended 
over the entrance to Representatives Hall is the Minot cradle, brought 
to America in 1630. Let us first enter the Council Chamber, 
pausing to note in the centre of the room the original table used by 
the executive council before the Revolution. 

From the balcony outside the east window were publicly pro- 
claimed the repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766, the Declaration of 
Independence in 1776, and the peace with Great Britain in 1783, 
while in earlier days the Governors' commissions were read here, and 
the laws proclaimed with beat of drum. In this room in Provincial 
days assembled the Honorable Council of twenty-eight citizens 




THE OLD STATE HOUSE 



29 



FROM OLD STATE HOUSE TO KING'S CHAPEL 31 

who formed the Upper House of the Great and General Court. 
Here Endicott, Leverett, Bradstreet, Andros, Phips, Belmont, 
Dudley, Burnet, Shirley, Pownal, Bernard, and others presided 
over the legislative proceedings. In this chamber the expedition 
against the French was planned which resulted in the capture of 
Louisburg. Here James Otis made his famous argument against 
Writs of Assistance, of which John Adams said that "then and 
there the child Independence was born." Here also Samuel Adams, 
at the head of a committee of citizens, demanded of Governor 
Hutchinson, after the Boston Massacre, that the British troops should 
be removed to Castle WiUiam (now Fort Independence), thus 
making the room historic as the scene of the first concession ob- 
tained by the Colonists from the Crown. Finally, it was in this 
chamber that the State Constitution was planned, and that John 
Hancock, James Bowdoin, Samuel Adams, and Increase Sumner 
were inaugurated as Governors. The walls are covered with nu- 
merous interesting portraits and views, and in one corner is John 
Hancock's dining table, with Madame Hancock's chair. Before 
the Revolution, the Iving's Arms carved in wood were to be seen 
in the Council Chamber, but they were removed by Loyalists, 
and are now to be seen as a trophy at the west end of Trinity Church, 
in Saint John, New Brunswick. During the Provincial period a 
wooden codfish hung from the ceiling of the chamber as an "emblem 
of the staple of commodities of the Colony and the province." 
The tradition is preserved in the codfish which hangs opposite the 
Speaker's desk in Representatives Hall of the present State House. 
On the opposite side of the building is Representatives Hall, 
over the entrance to which hung before the Revolution the arms of 
the Colony. The ante-chamber to the left, known as the Com- 
missions Room, contains an interesting collection of military and 
civil commissions by Governors of the Province and Commonwealth, 
while the ante-chamber to the right, known as the Patriots' Room, 
contains many portraits and mementoes of Revolutionary worthies. 
Passing through either of these rooms, we may enter Representatives 
Hall. Here in Provincial times the popular branch of the Great 
and General Court was convened. On October 29, 1765, in this 
chamber, the House passed the famous resolve of Samuel Adams, 
which ordered letters to be written to the other American Colonies 
"with respect to the importance of joining with them in petitioning 



32 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

His Majesty at this time." The king's ministry ordered this re- 
solve to be rescinded, and the refusal to do so led to the stationing 
of British troops in Boston. When the representatives next assem- 
bled in May, 1769, they resolved that this investment of the town 
was inconsistent with liberty, and succeeding events led up to the 
Boston Massacre. From a colonnade erected in front of the west 
window. General Washington reviewed the great procession which 
welcomed him to Boston in 1789. 

On one wall hangs the original sign of the old Hancock Tavern, 
(See Walk I), and near it are cases containing many interesting 
literary and historical autographs. In the Governor Hancock case 
may be seen John Hancock's clothes, pocketbooks, punch bowl, 
money trunk, Bible and prayer books, as well as Dorothy Q's slippers, 
and the knocker of the old Hancock House, which stood on the top 
of Beacon Hill, facing the Common. (See Walk IV.) Other 
interesting historic relics to be seen in this chamber are the lantern 
which hung on the Liberty Tree at the illumination in honor of the 
repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766; various military souvenirs of 
Louisburg, Bunker Hill, and the Siege of Boston; Agnes Surriage's 
fan and Benjamin Franklin's saucepan; and the knocker of the 
Winslow house in Marshfield, which was brought over in the ** May- 
flower," and was formerly owned by Daniel Webster. 

Ascending to the floor above, let us first turn to the left, and enter 
Blackstone Hall, where among many objects of historic and curious 
interest, by far the most important is Benjamin Franklin's hand 
printing-press. The other exhibition room, known as Winthrop 
Hall, contains an invaluable collection of photographic views of 
old Boston buildings and scenes, fascinating to the resident of the 
city and indispensable to the local historian. 

In the basement of the building may be seen various important 
historic relics, among which may be specially mentioned the front 
door, balustrade, and lantern frame of the old John Hancock mansion; 
the front door of the house in Cambridge where Oliver Wendell 
Holmes was born; and various relics of the old Brattle Street Church. 

Very near the head of State Street, on the site of the present 
Rogers Building, stood the first church in Boston (3), erected 
in 1632. Before 1640, it was used for town meetings and for sessions 
of the General Court of the Colony. The second meeting house 
(4) was erected in 1640 on what is now Washington Street, also on 



FROM OLD STATE HOUSE TO KING'S CHAPEL 33 

the site of the Rogers Building, and here it was that, as Hawthorne 
tells us, Arthur Dimmesdale preached the Election Sermon. It was 
used for town meetings during eighteen years, and was destroyed 
in 1711. A brick church built on the same spot lasted almost 
another century. Nearly opposite this church was the house and 
lot of Captain Robert Keayne (5), the donor of the Old State 
House, and the first commander of the "MiUtary Company" 
from which the present "Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company " 
has sprung. A provision in his will, as said before, was the germ of 
the first public library in America. He is buried in King's Chapel 
Burying Ground. A hundred years later, the site of Captain 
Keayne's lot was occupied by the bookshop of Daniel Henchman, 
wherein General Knox learned his trade, and became his master's 
successor. In 1768-70, the Main Guardhouse (6) of the British 
troops stood opposite the south door of the Old State House, and 
two fieldpieces were levelled at this door. This indignity was 
the last straw, which led to the celebrated resolution of the Repre- 
sentatives in May, 1769, condemning the investment of the town 
by the British. Near the north corner of what is now Devonshire 
Street (formerly Pudding Lane), was the house of the Rev. John 
Wilson (7), the first minister of the first church, while on the site 
of the present Sears Building stood the house of John, afterwards 
Governor, Leverett (8). The house of Henry Dunster (9), 
first president of Harvard College, stood on the site of the Ames 
Building. 

The Old State House, it will be remembered, occupies the centre 
of the old market place. After 1648, semi-annual fairs were held 
here in June and October, while Thursday was the regular weekly 
market day. At the time of the Revolution the stocks (10) stood 
by the northeast corner of the Old State House, and close to the 
stocks was the whipping post. The pillory (11), when it was 
used, stood in the centre of the sciuare, midway between Congress 
and Exchange Streets. It was in the State Street Square that the 
people gathered in 1689, and organized the bloodless Andros Revolu- 
tion. Here also, in 1765, a stamp was placed on a pole by the Sons 
of Liberty, fastened in the stocks, and publicly burned. 

Continuing down State Street, which is one of the chief money 
centres of the United States, lined with banking houses, past Con- 
gress Street, formerly known as Levterett's Lane, we pass the Boston 



34 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

Stock Exchange (12) at No. 53 State Street, which occupies the 
site on which stood Governor Winthrop's first house, where the 
first General Court in America, which was the nucleus of the 
present Massachusetts Legislature, met on October 19, 1630. 

At the corner of Kilby Street, formerly Mackerel Lane, stood the 
Bunch-of-Grapes Tavern (13) in Provincial days. It was built 
in 1711 on the site of a former tavern or "ordinary" dating from 
1640. In its day it was a great Whig resort and had a considerable 
reputation. Lafayette was a guest, and the Sons of Liberty were 
wont to assemble here. In it Washington and his officers were 
entertained after the evacuation of Boston, and finally it was in 
this tavern that General Rufus Putnam and other Continental 
officers met in 1786, and organized the Ohio Company, that settled 
Ohio. When the Declaration of Independence was announced, 
the lion and unicorn and other royal emblems were burned before 
the door of the tavern in a great bonfire. Nearly opposite, almost 
on the site of No. 66 State Street, stood the British Coffee House 
(14), where James Otis was assaulted in 1769 by John Robinson, 
a commissioner of the royal customs whom he had criticised, and 
thus received a wound on the head which destroyed his intellect. 
On Merchants Row, to the left, formerly stood the Golden Bull 
Tavern (15), on the site of No. 21, and the Roebuck Tavern 
(16), built in 1650 by Richard Whittington, on the site of No. 45. 
On the corner of India Street stands the Custom House (17), 
built in 1847, at what was then the head of Long Wharf. In earlier 
days the house of Deacon Shem Drowne, immortalized by Haw- 
thorne in his "Mosses from an Old Manse," stood upon this spot. 
The noble tower, rising high above the surrounding city, was erected 
in 1913 and completed in 1915. There are thirty floors and the 
height is 495 feet. The balcony around the tower at the twenty- 
fifth story is 400 feet above the street. The dial of the clock, 
which is an electric one, is twenty-one feet, six inches in diameter. 
The minute hand is sixteen feet long and the hour hand ten feet long. 
The minute hand moves only at the end of every minute and jumps 
a distance of thirteen inches at every move. The ascent to the 
balcony is only by special permit. 

Long Wharf, at the foot of State Street, has various historical 
and literary associations. Built in 1709-10, with a battery of guns 
mounted on the end, it was originally known as Boston Pier. Here 




FAXEUIL HALL 



35 



FROM OLD STATE HOUSE TO KING'S CHAPEL 37 

Royal Governors always formally landed. It was the main landing 
place of the British troops, and from it the evacuation of Boston 
took place. Readers of ''Agnes Surriage" will recall the return 
of the successful Louisburg expedition to this wharf, and here were 
the boats that carried many of the British troops to Breed's Hill. 
The Salt House on the wharf, built in 1721, where Hawthorne 
wrote "The Scarlet Letter," is still standing. The novehst used 
a little back room on the top floor. 

We turn to the right down Atlantic Avenue, which runs over the 
hne of the Old Barricado, erected in 1673 as a harbor defense against 
French or Dutch frigates, and connecting the North Battery, now 
Battery Wharf, with the South Battery, now Rowe's Wharf. There 
were openings in the barricado permitting vessels to enter the 
"Great Cove." We shall return west by Central Street, the next 
thoroughfare above State Street, and if we look sharply as we pass 
we may see in a shop window Deacon Shem Drowne's famous 
figure of Admiral Vernon, well remembered as an inspiration to 
Hawthorne. It stood in the doorway of a shop at the head of Long 
Wharf from 1770 until a few years ago, and it was there that Haw- 
thorne used to see it every day as he passed to and fro from the 
Salt House. 

A minute's walk brings us to the Chamber of Commerce (20), 
opposite which Custom House Street leads off from India Street 
south. Passing down this street, we come to the Old Custom 
House (21), dating from 1810, w^here Hawthorne was a customs 
officer for two years, and in which George Bancroft, the historian, 
had an office as collector of the port in 1838-41. At the foot of 
Custom House Street we turn down Broad Street to the left, follow 
it for a block, then cross and walk up Franklin Street (formerly 
Vincent's Lane) one block to Batterymarch Street, and from there 
it is but a couple of hundred yards' walk to the left before we reach 
Fort Hill Square (22). The name indicates that here formerly 
was Fort Hill, one of Boston's three original hills, which took its 
name from the first fort on the peninsula, erected here in 1632. A 
second fort was built here in 1687, and in it Sir Edmund Andros 
took refuge when the "bloodless revolution" repudiated his govern- 
ment. 

If we look down High Street as far as Atlantic Avenue, we shall 
see Rowe's Wharf, close to which stood the Sconce or South Battery, 



38 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

erected in 1666 to defend the inner harbor. Rowe's Wharf is the 
terminus of lines to Nantasket, Revere, and Winthrop Beaches. 
Revere and Winthrop Beaches are accessible by ferry and train of 
the Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn Railway at a five-cent fare. 
Nantasket Beach is reached by steamboat down the harbor at a 
fare of twenty-five cents. 

Let us cross the square diagonally to the right, continue down 
Oliver Street to Atlantic Avenue, and proceed along the water front 
to the corner of Pearl Street, bearing in mind that this part of the 
avenue did not exist at the time of the Revolution, and that con- 
sequently the shore line never extended out further than what is 
now the inner side of Atlantic Avenue. On the north corner of 
Pearl Street is the site of the Boston Tea Party Wharf (23), 
marked with reasonable accuracy by a tablet on the Atlantic Avenue 
face of the building now occupying the site. Here on December 
16, 1773, it will be recalled that about ninety citizens of Boston, 
partly disguised as Indians, boarded three British shijis (moored 
at what was then known as Griffin's Wharf and loaded with cargoes 
of tea), and threw their cargoes, containing 342 chests, into the 
harbor. 

It is but a short walk along Atlantic Avenue from the Tea Party 
Wharf to Dewey Square and the South Terminal Station (24), 
which is one of the largest railroad stations in the world. The 
building covers thirteen acres, and four miles of track under cover. 
It is used jointly by the New York, New Haven & Hartford 
Railroad and the Boston & Albany division of the New York 
Centra] System, and about 750 trains arrive and depart here daily. 
This station is used by more passengers than any other in the world 
with possibly one exception; Bombay claims a larger number, but 
authentic statistics are not available; 34,259,691 passengers used the 
South Terminal in 1915; about 29,000,000 used the North Station, 
and the Grand Central Station in New York is third with 24,748,755. 

Near by on Purchase Street, close to Summer Street, is the site 
of the house in which Samuel Adams was born (25). A 
moment's walk along Atlantic Avenue will bring us to Essex Street, 
which we will follow back to Washington Street. No. 59 is the site 
on which stood the home of Gilbert Stuart (27), who lies buried 
in the cemetery on the Common. On the site of the Essex Hotel 
stood the birthplace of General Henry Knox (26), the Revolu- 




39 



FROM OLD STATE HOUSE TO KING'S CHAPEL 41 

tionary Commander. A little further on, Harrison Avenue, the 
centre of Chinatown, opens off to the left. The Essex Street Station 
of the Post Office marks the site where Wendell Phillips lived (28) 
for forty years. On the south corner of Harrison Avenue Extension 
and Exeter Place behind the Post Office is a tablet marking the 
building where Alexander Graham Bell transmitted to Thomas A. 
Watson the first complete and intelligible sentence by tele- 
phone (28A) on March 10, 1876. On the south corner of Washington 
and Essex Streets stood in Colonial days the famous Liberty Tree 
(29), planted in 1646, and the rallying place of the Sons of Liberty 
from 1766 to 1775. Here effigies were burnt at the time of the Stamp 
Act agitation. The tree was destroyed by British troops in 1775, 
but a tablet on the waU of a building marks the site. Adjacent to 
this site on the south was the Liberty Tree Tavern (30), where 
the Sons of Liberty were wont to betake themselves after their 
demonstrations at the tree. The present building, which succeeds 
the old tavern, was built in 1824 to mark the spot for Lafayette on 
his last visit to this country. Directly opposite, on the south corner 
of Boylston Street, was the Boylston Market (31), built m 1810 
from designs by Charles Bulfinch, the architect of the State House. 
John Quincy Adams was a founder of the market and delivered an 
address at the laying of the corner stone. The building was 
demohshed in 1887. 

Our steps now take us back down Washington Street north as 
far as Summer Street. The Adams House on the left marks the 
site of the Lamb Tavern (32), dating from 1746, and a few rods 
south of it stood the White Horse Tavern (33), built m 1724. 
The Lamb Tavern was a starting place for stagecoaches in the 
eighteenth century. On our way we also pass several important 
theatres, notablv the Park Theatre (34), Keith's Theatre (35), 
and the Boston Theatre (36). The Boston Theatre, which is 
one of the largest in the world, seats three thousand people, and 
was opened in 1854. On its stage Booth, Forrest, Fechter, Salvini, 
Ristori, Barrett, and Jefferson, to name no others, have frequently 
appeared, and here state balls were given to the Prince of Wales and 
Grand Duke Alexis. 

The first street we come to on the left is West Street, down which 
we will turn for a moment to visit a spot with important literary 
associations. At No. 13 (37), Dr. Nathaniel Peabody lived from 



42 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

1840 to 1854 with his three daughters, Ehzabeth, Mary, and Sophia. 
Here he and his daughter Ehzabeth opened the celebrated "Foreign 
Bookstore," and for some time it was here that The Dial was 
pubhshed. The building is, however, more interesting becavise 
Margaret Fuller began here her famous series of conversations, 
and because it was a meeting place for Emerson, Haw^thorne, 
Ripley, and many leading New England thinkers. 

Continuing down Washington Street, we pass on the right the 
building of the Jordan Marsh Companj', which stands on the site 
of the home of Chief Justice Samuel Sewell (38), and finally 
come to the corner of Winter and Summer Streets. We may turn 
up Winter Street for a moment to see the site on the corner of Winter 
Place of the house of Samuel Adams (39), from 1784 to 1803, and 
at Nos. 16 and 18, the home of Dr. Thomas W. Parsons (40), 
a distinguished Boston poet, from 1831 to 1870. Peter Faneuil's 
residence (41) stood on the south corner of Summer and Washing- 
ton Streets. 

Our main route lies dow^n Summer Street, once the most beautiful 
residential street in Boston, but now in the heart of the retail dis- 
trict. On the corner of Hawley Street stood the old Trinity 
Church (42), l)uilt of granite in 1828, and destroyed in the great 
fire of 1872. The church was founded in 1728, and is the third 
Episcopal church in Boston. The corner stone of a previous 
building on the same site was laid in 1734. Near by on the south- 
west corner of Otis Street was the residence of Edward Everett 
(43). On the northeast corner of Chauncy Street is the site of Ralph 
Waldo Emerson's birthplace (44), and further down Summer 
Street, on the left-hand side, just at the bend where High Street 
opens off, is the site of Daniel Webster's home (45). 

A few rods down High Street l3rings us to Federal Street, up 
which w^e turn to the left. On this street, as Howells tells us, Silas 
Lapham had his counting-room and w^arehouse. The northwest 
corner of Federal and Frankhn Streets is the site of the Federal 
Street Theatre (46), erected in 1794 from the designs of Charles 
Bulfinch. It was the first regular theatre in Boston, and Edgar 
Allan Poe's father and mother were regular members of a company 
then playing there when the poet w^as born in 1809. On the south- 
west corner stood the Federal Street Church (47). The congre- 
gation first met in May, 1729, in a barn, which was converted into 



FROM OLD STATE HOUSE TO KING'S CHAPEL 43 

a church in September of the same year. A new church was erected 
in 1744, and in it in February, 1788, the Federal Constitution was 
adopted. A second new building was built in 1809, but was taken 
away in 1859. This church is famous as the Boston pulpit of 
Wilham EUery Channing from 1803 until his death in 1842, and 
from it the old hymn " Federal Street " took its name. 

Federal Street joins Milk Street at the Federal Building (48), 
erected in 1869-85 at a cost of about $6,000,000. It includes the 
Post Office, Sub-Treasury, and Federal Courts, and served to check 
the progress of the great fire of November 9-10, 1872, which swept 
over sixty acres of the business district, and destroyed property 
to the value of $60,000,000. The sculptured groups on the building, 
which represent Labor, Science, and the Fine Arts, are the work 
of Daniel C. French, the famous sculptor. 

We may descend Milk Street for a little distance to note at the 
corner of Oliver Street the site of General Howe's headquarters 
(49), and, as we return, cross Post Office Square, and note on the 
northeast corner of Congress and Water Streets, the site of the 
first office of "The Liberator " (50). Here, in an attic, Wilham 
Lloyd Garrison began his editorial campaign against slavery in 
1831. The building was destroyed in the great fire of 1872. 

Our way now lies up Milk Street, and we pass at No. 17 the site 
of Benjamin Franklin's birthplace (51). 

At the head of the street is the Old South Meeting House (52), 
erected in 1729, and restored to its original appearance in 1914. 
Here was John Winthrop's garden, and just above by the south- 
east corner of the Old South Building was his second house (53), 
wherein he died. The house became the parsonage of the Old South 
Meeting House, and was occupied as such until the Siege of Boston, 
when the British troops tore it down and used it for firewood. Here 
Increase Mather was brought up in the household of the Rev. John 
Norton. 

The congregation of the Old South Meeting House was gathered 
in 1669, and the first edifice was erected in 1670. The present 
building, which is the second on the site, dates from 1729. It was 
in the first cedar meeting house that Sir Edmund Andros, then 
Governor of the Colony, forcibly caused the Episcopal service to 
be permitted; that Chief Justice Samuel Sewell in 1696 stood up 
in his pew, while his "confession of contrition" was read for his 



44 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

share in the witchcraft dehision of 1692; and that Benjamin Franklin 
was baptized on the day of his birth. 

The present meeting house, however, has more vital historical 
associations, connected with the part which Boston patriots played 
in the cause of liberty. Whenever Faneuil Hall proved too small 
to accommodate the town meetings of the patriots, it was customary 
to hold them here. In March, 1770, an overflowing town meeting 
after the Boston Massacre waited here, while Samuel Adams went 
to and fro from the Old State House, until finally Governor Hutchin- 
son, after nightfall, yielded and withdrew the British regiments. 
A meeting of several thousand citizens, convened here on November 
29, 1773, resolved that the tea should not be landed, and here on 
December 16 of the same year a crowded meeting waited till evening 
listening to Samuel Adams and Josiah Quincy, Jr., while messengers 
went to and fro from Governor Hutchinson's house in Milton asking 
for redress. When he persisted in his refusal, a war whoop was 
raised at the door of the meeting house, citizens disguised as Indians 
led the way to Griffin's Wharf, and the tea was destroyed. Here 
the annual orations in commemoration of the Boston Massacre 
were delivered successively by Lovell, Warren, Church, and Hancock 
from 1771 to 1775. On the occasion of General Warren's address, 
he entered through the window in the rear of the pulpit, though the 
aisles and the steps of the pulpit were occupied by British officers 
and soldiers, and succeeded in speaking without forceful opposition. 
Here during the Siege of Boston in 1775, a riding school for the 
Queen's Light Dragoons was established by order of General Bur- 
goyne. The pulpit, the pews, and all of the interior furnishings 
save the sounding board and the east galleries were torn away and 
broken up for fuel. One pew was used as a hog sty. The east 
galleries were fitted up for the use of spectators and a bar for re- 
freshments was installed. The Rev. Thomas Prince's New England 
library, which was then deposited in the steeple room of the tower, 
was drawn upon for kindling purposes, and many priceless volumes 
were thus destroyed. What remains of the collection is now to 
be seen in the Barton-Ticknor Room of the Boston Public Library. 
When Washington made his triumphal entry into Boston in March, 
1776, he paused here, and entering the building, looked down from 
the east gallery on the desecrated building. Here the annual 
election sermon was preached for many years before the Governor 




OLD SOUTH MEETING HOUSE 



45 



FROM OLD STATE HOUSE TO KING'S CHAPEL 47 

and the Legislature of Massachusetts, and in the chapel of the 
church was organized the first Young Men's Christian Association. 

In 1876 the demolition of the meeting house was threatened,, but 
twenty-five Boston women organized the "Old South Preservation 
Committee"; public lectures, addresses, and readings of poems by 
Emerson, Holmes, Lowell, and others, were given; the estate was 
purchased, and the building is now maintained as a loan museum 
of Colonial and Revolutionary portraits and relics. Both interior 
and exterior have been restored as nearly as possible to their Colonial 
appearance, and the church is open on week days from nine to six. 
The admission fee is twenty-five cents. During the summer months 
"The Old South Lectures to Young People" are delivered here by 
local historians and literary men. 

Among the most interesting contents of the loan collection may 
be mentioned the large number of autograph letters and signatvires 
of Revolutionary statesmen and patriots; cannon balls and bullets 
from Lexington and Bunker Hill; the skull of a soldier who fell at 
Bunker Hill; manuscript sermons by famous Colonial ministers; a 
model of the frigate " Constitution," made by one of its crew; the 
book containing General Washington's account with the United 
States from 1775 to 1783; General Warren's daybook and his chris- 
tening cap; General Stark's hat; a needle book brought over in the 
" Mayflower"; a piece of the dress worn by Dorothy Quincy when 
she was married to John Hancock; a remnant of the original flag 
that hung from the Liberty Tree in 1775; a quiver and arrows used 
in Indian warfare in 1623; a canteen from Ticonderoga; salt cellars, 
goblets, and spoons which belonged to Washington, and a bed quilt 
made from pieces of Lady Washington's dresses; the prophet's 
bowl of Tecumseh and several cases of Indian ornaments; a small 
collection of old-fashioned clothing with historic associations; a 
somewhat larger collection of Colonial furniture and utensils; 
various pieces of Continental currency; wood from the Charter 
Oak at Hartford; an interesting model of Boston as it appeared in 
1775; china which belonged to Louis Philippe, Louis Napoleon, 
and Charles Sumner; and a collection of autograph poems by many 
American and English poets. The visitor may also see careful 
copies of two of the original pews that stood in the Old South Meet- 
ing House before the Revolution. 

Those who have read Hawthorne's "Legends of the Province 



48 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

House" will be anxious to identify the site of the Province House 
(54). (A bit of the wall is still standing, and it is the position of 
this fragment that is indicated on the map.) In olden days it 
stood very nearly opposite the Old South Meeting House, which 
it faced, and in front of it was a shaded lawn. The Province House 
was the official residence of the Royal Governors, and was a fine 
brick building of three stories with a high-pitched roof and a cupola 
surmounted by the figure of an Indian with bow and arrow, wrought 
by Deacon Shem Drowne, with two examples of whose handiwork 
we have previously met. A high flight of stone steps led to a por- 
tico, surmounted by the royal arms. In later days it became a 
famous hostelry. After the Revolution, the Governor and his 
Council used it for their meetings for some time. Later it was 
used for business purposes, became at one time the home of a negro 
minstrel show, and was destroyed by fire in 1864. Those who feel 
adventurous may walk up Harvard Court from Washington Street, 
and go through an underground passage known as Rat Alley, 
opening off to the left near the head of the court and, passing under 
the site of the Province House to Province Court, emerge by the 
bit of wall which still remains. 

The less enthusiastic sightseer will prefer to proceed down Wash- 
ington Street to the right until he comes to the building still known 
as the Old Corner Bookstore (55), though the bookstore has 
changed its quarters in recent years. Here formerly stood the 
home of Anne Hutchinson, where she instituted the first woman's 
club in America. In 1637-38, she was the leading spirit in the violent 
Antinomian religious controversy, and was finally banished from 
the Colony for heresy. The present building was erected in 1812, 
and was a bookstore from 1828 to 1903. In the early part of the 
last century, it was the home and shop of James Freeman Clarke's 
father, and later it was occupied by Ticknor and Fields. In the 
rear of the shop at that time was James T. Fields's "Curtained 
Corner," frequented by a famous group of American authors, which 
the witty were wont to call the "Mutual Admiration Society." 
For many years the shop was the literary centre of Boston, if not 
of the United States. It is the oldest brick building in Boston. 
On Spring Lane off Washington Street, a short distance further on, 
is a tablet on a building which states that this is the site of the 
Great Spring (55A), which gave the town water for two centuries. 



FROM OLD STATE HOUSE TO KING'S CHAPEL 49 

School Street has some interesting associations. The building 
next above the Old Corner Bookstore was occupied by Mrs. Haven's 
Coffee Rooms (56), a great resort of Longfellow, Lowell, Prescott, 
Agassiz, Fields, and the rest of the "Mutual Admiration Society," 
who would drop in here for tea and toast and conversation. No. 19 
stands on the site of the Cromwell's Head Tavern (57), where 
Lieutenant-Colonel George Washington was entertained in 1756. 
No. 28 School Street is the site of the French Huguenot Church 
(58), occupied by Huguenots from 1704 to 1748. In 1774 John 
Murray, the apostle of Universahsm, was stoned by a mob while 
preaching in its pulpit, while from 1788 to 1802 the church was 
occupied by the first Roman Catholic congregation in New England, 
and was thus the nucleus of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. 

Halfway up School Street on the right we come to the City Hall 
(59), built in 1862-65, and succeeding an earlier building on the same 
site designed by Bulfinch and used as a Court House until the Old 
Court House on Court Street was built on the site of the City Hall 
Annex. On the lawn are statues of Josiah Quincy (60) by 
Thomas Ball, and of Benjamin Franklin (61) l)y Richard 
Greenough. Edward Everett Hale has related how Greenough 
intentionally modelled FrankUn's head so that one side of his face 
shows "Poor Richard," and the other side the grave statesman 
and weighty philosopher. 

Very nearly in front of the Franklin statue is the site of the house 
wherein Lieutenant-General Haldimand lived (62) in 1774-75. 
Here, according to the famous story, a group of Boston boys came 
to complain that the British soldiers had destroyed their coasting. 
The coasting was restored, and when the matter was called to the 
attention of General Gage, he remarked that it was impossible to 
destroy the spirit of liberty that was implanted in the hearts of 
these boys. 

A tablet on the School Street railing, just above the Franklin 
statue, calls attention to the site of the first building of the Boston 
Latin School (63), which gave the street its name. The exact 
site is covered by the pulpit and chancel of King's Chapel. Built 
in 1645, it stood on this spot for over a century, until the second 
building (64) was erected across the street on the site of what is 
now the Parker House. From 1635 (when the school was first 
established) to 1645, classes were held in the master's house. The 



50 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

present building of the I^atin School, which is the fifth, is on Warren 
Avenue and Dartmouth Street, in the Sovith End. To this school 
have gone such famous men as Cotton Mather, Franklin, Hancock, 
Samuel Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Emerson, Motley, Parkman, 
Sumner, Henry Ward Beecher, James Freeman Clarke, Edward 
Everett Hale, and Phillips Brooks, while the history of the school 
reveals a long line of illustrious masters. 





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52 




SCOLLAY SQUARE, TREMONT ROW 
III 

A WALK THROUGH THE NORTH END 
AND CHARLESTOWN 

Our starting point for the walk through the North End is at the 
head of Hanover Street, a minute's walk from the Scollay Square 
Station of the Subway. On the left corner of Hanover and Court 
Streets stood the Orange Tree Tavern (1), built in 1700. Accord- 
ingly, Hanover Street was known in Colonial days as Orange Tree 
Lane. Our route lies down Hanover Street for some distance. 
On the right corner of Court and Hanover Streets formerly stood 
Concert Hall (2), built before 1679. At the head of Hanover 
Street meetings were held by the Sons of Liberty, and speeches 
made by such orators as Samuel Adams, James Otis, and Paul 
Revere. 

On the site of the American House, which we soon pass on the 
left, was the home of General Joseph Warren (3) . The house 
in which he lived was built in 1761. A short distance below, Port- 
land Street opens off to the left, and on Garaux Place, a narrow 
passage running off Portland Street on the right just beyond Hanover 
Street, was the house (No. 17) where Louis Philippe, the French 
King, boarded (4) with the Garaux family while in exile. 

Continuing down Hanover Street, we cross Washington Street 
and soon come to Union Street. No. 80 Union Street, just off Han- 
over Street to the left, marks the site of the Green Dragon Tavern 
(5), "the headquarters of the Revolution." Here Hancock, 
Adams, Warren, Revere, and others made their official headquarters, 
and James Otis thundered forth his eloquence. It was built about 

53 



54 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

1680, and for a long time gave its name to what is now Union Street. 
The Boston Tea Party originated here, and it was the secret meeting 
place for various patriotic organizations, and for the first Masonic 
Lodge. Near the southeast corner of Union and Hanover Streets 
was the boyhood home of Benjamin Franklin (6), at the sign 
of the Blue Ball. Here he worked for his father, Josiah Franklin, 
making candles in the chandlery shop. The site of the house is 
now covered by the widening of Hanover Street. Let us turn down 
Union Street to the right for a few yards until Marshall's Lane 
(now Marshall Street) opens off to the left, and then return by this 
lane to Hanover Street. The corner building, a low structure now 
occupied by Atwood's oyster house, is that in which Benjamin 
Thompson, afterwards famous as Count Rumford, sold dry 
goods (7) in the shop of Hopestill Capen. On the ui)per floor the 
Massachusetts Spy was first printed at the outbreak of the 
Revolution. 

Turning down Marshall Street, we soon come to Creek Lane, 
making off to the right. At the base of a building on the further 
side of Creek Lane we may see a rough stone with a ball upon it 
marked " Boston Stone, 1737" (8). It is the only reminder of 
a paint mill, brought here from England about 1700, and used in 
a near-by painter's shop. The purpose of the stone was perhaps to 
serve as a landmark of direction to the near-by shops and houses. 
The old building opposite the Boston Stone was the office of 
Ebenezer Hancock (9), John Hancock's brother, and the deputy 
paymaster-general of the Continental Army during the Revolution. 
Here the pecuniary aid sent out by France to the Colonies was 
deposited until the Continental troops were paid. The block 
beyond this building on Creek Lane is Hancock Row (10), built 
by John Hancock after the Revolution to be used as stores. 

On the face of the building on the Hanover Street corner of 
Marshall Street is a carved wooden coat of arms, dated 1701, set 
up by the same painter who set up the Boston Stone. It is known 
as the Painters' Arms (11). It is supposed to represent the 
Painters' Guild of London. Let us now cross Hanover Street, and 
pursue our way down Salem Street, which opens off nearly opposite 
diagonally to the left. In Colonial days it was known as Green Lane, 
and to live on it was a mark of high social standing. On the corner 
of Stillman Street, a narrow alley leading off to the left, just a little 



THE NORTH END AND CHARLESTOWN 57 

below Hanover Street, stood the first Baptist meeting house 

(12), erected in 1679, beside the Mill Pond, not far from the salt 
marsh where Benjamin Frankhn used to fish for minnows as a boy. 
This meeting house was closed by order of the Court the year after 
it was built, and its doors were nailed up, whereupon the congre- 
gation held their meetings in the churchyard. The present descend- 
ant of this Baptist society occupies the First Baptist Church, on 
the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Clarendon Street in the 
Back Bay. (See Walk V.) 

We return east by way of Parmenter Street, cross Hanover Street, 
and follow Richmond Street, on which Charlotte Cushman was 
born, to North Square, in the heart of Little Italy. In Colonial 
days it was known at difTerenc periods as Friezel Square and Clark 
Square, and North Street, which leads off from it, was then known 
as Ann Street, being named in honor of Queen Anne. Here still 
stands the home of Paul Revere (13), where he lived from 1770 
to 1800. It was built soon after the great fire of 1676, and replaced 
the home of Increase Mather, destroyed during that fire. In the 
present building, which has been restored to its old-time appearance, 
Paul Revere displayed from the upper windows, on the evening of 
the Boston Massacre, illuminated pictures representing the Massacre, 
the Genius of Liberty trampling under foot a soldier hugging a 
serpent as the emblem of tyranny, and an obelisk with the names 
of the five victims of the Massacre, together with a bust of the boy 
Snider, killed a few days before the Massacre in a contest before a 
boycotted Tory shop. Behind the bust was a dark bleeding figure, 
with this couplet underneath: 

''Snider's pale ghost fresh bleeding stands 
And Vengeance for his death demands." 

We are told that these pictures struck the assembled spectators 
with solemn silence, and that they shuddered at the sight and all 
which it implied. The building is open to the public daily, except 
Sunday, from ten to four, upon payment of an admission fee of 
twenty-five cents. 

Near the corner of North and Richmond Streets, somewhat 
below Paul Revere's house, was the Red Lion Inn (14), kept in 
Colonial days by Nicholas Upsall, who was imprisoned and banished 
for his kindness to the proscribed Quakers. After 1681 it served 



58 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

for a time as the Royal Custom House. On the north side of the 
square, l^etween Garden Court and Moon Streets, stood the Old 
North Church (15), pulled down by the British troops during the 
Siege of Boston, and used for firewood. It was the home of the 
Second Church of Boston, and this edifice took the place of the first 
meeting house on the same site, burnt in the great fire of 1676. 
The society was founded in 1649, and among its ministers were 
Increase, Cotton, and Samuel Mather. The patriotic John Lathrop 
was minister of the church just before the Revolution, and Paul 
Revere was a member of the congregation. The building was 
succeeded by what was known as the New Brick Church on Hanover 
Street, which in turn gave way to the Cockerel Church, with its 
copper weathercock wrought by Shem Drowne and now adorning 
the steeple of the Shepard Memorial Church in Cambridge. Ralph 
Waldo Emerson was minister of the congregation from 1829 to 1832. 

The building on the east side of North Square was Father 
Taylor's Bethel (16), a church for sailors conducted by the Rev. 
Edward T. Taylor, remembered as an earnest worker and still a 
legend in the memory of old sailors. It is now an Italian church. 
North Square was a military centre for the British during the 
Siege of Boston. Here were barracks, and the British officers 
lodged in houses around the square. 

Our road now lies along Garden Court Street (formerly Friezel 
Court), opening out of North Square. Here stood the noble 
mansion of Governor Thomas Hutchinson (17), set in 
beautiful grounds extending back to Hanover Street, and on one 
side as far as Fleet Street. The house was of brick, painted stone 
color, and richly furnished within. Here Hutchinson wrote his 
" History of Massachusetts." The house was sacked by a mob on 
August 26, 1765, in protest against the Stamp Act. Much of its 
contents was destroyed, but the manuscript of the second volume 
of Hutchinson's history was saved. It was in this house that 
Hutchinson was born. Next to it, also on Garden Court Street, 
at the corner of Bell Alley (now Prince Street), was the mansion 
of Sir Harry Frankland (18), portrayed by Cooper in "Lionel 
Lincoln," and by Edwin L. Bynner in "Agnes Surriage." It was 
built for William Clark, a wealthy merchant, and stood until 1834, 
when it was lost in the widening of Prince Street at this point. The 
Hutchinson mansion was destroyed at the same time. 



THE NORTH END AND CHARLESTOW N 59 

At the foot of Garden Court Street we may turn down Fleet 
Street to Hanover Street, which we shall follow for a block to the 
right, passing on the left-hand side just below North Bennet Street 
an old house huddled in from the street line with a store projecting 
out below. This is a relic of the house in which Increase Mather 
lived (19) after the fire of 1676, when the parsonage in North Square 
and the Old North Church were destroyed. It was built by him 
in 1677, and here Cotton Mather lived as a boy. Increase Mather 
dwelt here until his death in 1723. On North Bennet Street stood 
the jBrst grammar school in the North End, which was estab- 
lished in 1713. Our way now lies down Tileston Street, formerly 
Love Lane, on which was the first writing school in the North 
End (20), on the site of the Eliot School, and dating from 1718. 
The street is named after John Tileston, the old schoolmaster. A 
moment's w^alk brings us to Salem Street, down which we turn to 
the right until we come to Christ Church (21), the corner stone of 
which was laid in 1723. It is thus the oldest church edifice now 
standing in Boston. It was the second Episcopal church in Boston, 
as King's Chapel was the first, and stands unaltered today save for 
the spire, which is a faithful copy of the original spire blown down 
in a gale in 1805. In the tower are chimes of eight bells, first hung 
in 1744. From this tower General Gage watched the Battle of 
Bunker Hill, and the evidence is in favor of the truth of the inscrip- 
t ion on the face of the church, which tells us that "the signal lanterns 
of Paul Revere displayed in the steeple of this church April 18, 
1775, warned the country of the march of the British troops to 
Lexington and Concord." The church is associated in the minds 
of the American people with Longfellow's ''Paul Revere's Ride." 
The interior of the church is open to the public upon application 
to the sexton and payment of an admission fee of twenty-five cents. 
This fee entitles the visitor to a view from the tower. Below the 
tower are old tombs, containing the remains of British officers 
killed at Bunker Hill, and in one of these Major Pitcairn was buried 
for a time. The high gallery beside the organ was built for occupancy 
by slaves, and from this fact is supposed to have arisen the phrase 
"nigger heaven." In the church may be seen Houdon's effigy of 
Washington, placed here ten years after the President's death; the 
silver communion service, with pieces bearing the royal arms, and 
presented by George II in 1733; a "Vinegar Bible" and the old 



60 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

prayer books; the organ placed here in 1752, and a clock below the 
rail dating from 1746; besides the brass chandeliers and the figures 
of cherubim destined for a Canadian convent, but captured on the 
sea by an English privateer and given to the church in 1758 by its 
owner. It is believed that here was established, in 1815, the first 
Sunday School in America. 

Returning down Salem Street, we soon come to Sheaf e Street on 
the right, at the corner of which was the home of Robert Newman 
(22), the sexton of Christ Church, who is supposed to have hung 
the lanterns in its steeple. The building stood until 1889, and 
during the Revolution British soldiers were quartered there. At 
37 Sheafe Street was the birthplace of Samuel F. Smith (23), the 
author of ''America," and near by was the home of John Hull, 
the mintmaster, where he coined the famous pine-tree shillings. 
We follow Sheafe Street until we come to Margaret Street on the 
left, down which we turn and follow it to Prince Street. Opposite 
58 Prince Street is the home of the Thoreau family (24), before 
they removed to Concord. On the western corner of Prince and 
Margaret Streets is the house of John Tileston (25), the master 
for seventy years of the first school in the North End. At No. 130 
Prince Street is the Stoddard House (26), where Major Pitcairn 
died from his wounds. He is now buried in Westminster Abbey, 
though his remains rested for a time in a tomb in Christ Church, 
Prince Street, formerly Black Horse Lane, was the main thorough- 
fare from the North End to the Charlestown Ferry. Here many 
of the wounded British were brought after the Battle of Bunker 
Hill, and nursed in various houses along the street. We shall follow 
Prince Street only so far as Snow Hill Street, but beyond, on the 
corner of Lafayette Street, is one of these houses in which the wounded 
British were tended. 

Climbing Snow Hill Street, we reach Hull Street, down which 
we turn to the right that we may enter Co})p's Hill Buryirg Ground. 
Before doing so, however, there are one or two landmarks to be 
noticed on Hull Street, which is, of course, named after John Hull, 
the maker of the famous pine-tree shillings, and the father-in-law 
of Chief Justice Sewell. The street was cut through Hull's pasture 
in 1701. We should note at 16 Hull Street, standing endwise to 
the sidewalk, the historic Galloupe house (27), which dates from 
1722. It was occupied by General Gage and his staff at the time 




U. S. CUSTOM HOUSE 



61 



THE NORTH END AND CHARLESTOWN 63 

of the Battle of Bunker Hill. Edmund Hartt, the builder of "Old 
Ironsides," also ]ived on Hull Street. 

Let us now enter the Copp's Hill Burying Ground (28) by the 
main entrance on Hull Street. It is the largest historic burying 
ground in the city, and dates from 1660, when the North Burial 
Ground was established. It will be recalled that the Granary 
Burying Ground was established in the same year. The present 
cemetery contains four burying grounds. The first of these was the 
North Burying Ground, and this was added to successively by the 
Hull Street Cemetery in 1707, the New North Cemetery in 1809, 
and the Charter Street Ground in 1819. The northeastern part of 
the burying ground is the oldest, and accordingly has the most 
interesting historical associations. Near the Charter Street gate 
is the tomb of the Mathers,— Increase, Cotton, and Samuel. In 
the northwestern part of the ground is the grave of Captain Thomas 
Lake, slain by Indians in 1676. The stone which marks his grave 
is interesting, because a slit was made in the slate, into which were 
poured the melted bullets taken from his body. The vandalism 
of people in the neighborhood has hewn away the lead, but the 
traces of where it once was are still to be seen. Near by is the grave 
of Nicholas Upsall, the proprietor of the Red Lion Inn, who was 
banished from the Colony for befriending the Quakers. He died in 
1666. The oldest stone in the ground is dated 1661. Near the 
centre of the burying ground is the grave of George Worthylake, 
his wife and his daughter. He was the first keeper of Boston 
Light, and all three were drowned in a boat one day in 1718, a cir- 
cumstance which inspired Benjamin Franklin to compose his 
ballad of ''The Lighthouse Tragedy," which readers of his auto- 
biography may remember. Edmund Hartt, the builder of the frigate 
" Constitution," is buried in the northwest corner of the ground, 
not far from the vault of Governor Gore. On the western slojie of 
the hill is the grave of Deacon Shem Drowne, who died in 1774, 
and is remembered as the clever artificer of the vane of Faneuil 
Hall and other vanes in the city. Many of the stones in the ceme- 
tery were used by the British as targets, and one of them especially 
bears the marks of it today. This is the stone over the grave of 
Captain Daniel Malcom, one of the first to oppose the British revenue 
acts before the Revolution. In the southeast corner of the ceme- 
tery is the tomb of the Hutchinsons, though their names have been 



64 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

removed, the name of Thomas Lewis carved instead, and the ashes 
of Governor Hutchinson's father and grandfather removed, no one 
knows whither. Near the Charter Street gate, by the Elhs tomb, is 
the Napoleon willow, which has grown from a slip taken from the 
tree growing over Napoleon's grave. The smnmit of the hill was 
occupied at the time of the Battle of Bunker Hill by the British 
battery which set Charlestown afire, and probably in an earlier 
century the windmill stood here that ground the corn of the settlers 
and gave the hill its early name of Windmill Hill. Many of the 
stones have been removed, mutilated, or altered by the vandalism 
of neighboring residents, while much of the hill has been cut away. 
The sides thus cut are protected by stone embankments. 

Let us leave the cemetery by the Charter Street gate, and pursue 
our way down Charter Street to the right, only pausing to observe 
and admire the Copp's Hill Terraces, extending from Charter Street 
down to Commercial Street, and terminating in the North End 
Park and Beach, with its pier extending out into the water. Charter 
Street, upon which Commodore Porter was born, gets its name from 
the house of John Foster (29), on the corner of Charter and 
Foster Streets. Here the Colony Charter is said to have been 
hidden during the stirring days of 1681. On the corner of Foster 
and Commercial Streets was Paul Revere's foundry (30). Con- 
tinuing down Charter Street, we soon come to Salem Street, on the 
north corner of which stood the fine brick mansion of Sir William 
Phips (31), the first Royal Governor. Just before we reach Hanover 
Street, Revere Place branches off Charter Street to the right, and 
here on the north corner was the last home of Paul Revere (32) . 
A moment's walk down Hanover Street to the left brings us to Com- 
mercial Street and the Winnisimmet Ferry to Chelsea. We turn 
to the right down Commercial Street, and come at once to Constitu- 
tion Wharf (33), where the frigate " Constitution," best known as 
"Old Ironsides," was built by Edmund Hartt. Commercial Street 
merges shortly into Atlantic Avenue at Battery Wharf, marking 
the site of the North Battery (34), buih in 1646 to command the 
Charles River. There was a battery here as late as 1775, when 
Howe used it for that purpose, and it was here that on June 17, 1775, 
four British regiments embarked for Charlestown and Bunker Hill. 
A little beyond is Lewis Wharf, at the foot of Fleet Street. The 
north side of it marks approximately the site of John Hancock's 



THE NORTH END AND CHARLESTOWN 65 

wharf and warehouses (35). Returning to Battery Wharf, we 
take a northbound Elevated train marked SulHvan Square^ and 
leave it at City Square, Charlestown, for our visit to Bunker Hill 
Monument and the Charlestown Navy Yard. 

CHARLESTOWN, called Mishawum by the Indians, was settled 
in 1629, burned by the British at the time of the Battle of Bunker 
Hill, rebuilt, made a city in 1847, and annexed to the City of Boston 
in 1873. City Square, where we leave the Elevated train, marks 
the site of the first settlement. On the west side of the square 
stood the Great House of the Governor, and here the Court 
of Assistants passed in 1630 the order which gave the settlement of 
Boston its name. The house of John Harvard, the minister 
after whom Harvard University is named, was at the opening of 
Main Street. By the north end of the square, near the foot of Town 
Hill, was the first graveyard, where it is supposed that John Harvard 
was buried, but there is nothing now to mark the spot, and it can 
only be conjectured. Town Hill rises from the side of City Square, 
and the First Church, founded in 1632 with thirty-five mem- 
bers, of which John Harvard was minister, stood on the present 
site of the Charlestown branch of the Boston Public Library. The 
church was organized by Winthrop and his associates. On the 
summit of Town Hill was the first palisaded fort, erected in 1629, 
which lasted almost to the end of the century. The present church, 
facing Harvard Street on the hill, is a direct descendant of the 
first church of 1632. On the same site stood an earlier church, 
of which the Rev. Jedidiah Morse was pastor from 1789 to 1821. 
He is best remembered as the author of the first geography and 
gazetteer in the United States, and as the father of Samuel F. B. 
Morse, the inventor of the electric telegraph. 

Let us take Chelsea Street, which runs off City Square to the right, 
and follow the car tracks as far as Wapping Street. Turning down 
to the right, we come to the main gate of the Charlestown Navy 
Yard at the foot of the street. Passes may be obtained at 
this gate, and the yard is open to visitors every day. The Navy 
Yard occupies Moulton's Point, where the British troops landed 
for the Battle of Bunker Hill. The Navy Yard was established in 
1800, and has an area of eighty-seven and a quarter acres. It is 
surrounded by a high granite wall, and contains about seventy-five 



66 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

buildings, among which the marine museum and naval library should 
prove of interest to the visitor. The huge granite dry dock is three 
hundred and seventy feet long, and was built in 1827-33 at a cost 
of $994,000. The new dry dock, built in 1899-1902, at a cost of 
about $900,000, is seven hundred and fifty feet long, and accom- 
modates the largest ships in the navy while they are being repaired. 
The chief object of interest to the visitor, however, is the frigate 
"Constitution," best known as "Old Ironsides," which now lies 
quietly at anchor beside the Navy Yard. 

Upon leaving the Navy Yard, we return up Wapping Street, 
cross Chelsea Street, and continue up Putnam Street to Winthrop 
Square, which served as the training field in Colonial days. 
Here are memorial tablets commemorating those who fell on the 
American side in the Battle of Bunker Hill, and a soldiers' monument 
commemorating those who fell in the Civil War, by Martin Milmore, 
the sculptor of the soldiers' and sailors' monument on Boston 
Common. (See Walk IV.) No. 34 Winthrop Street was the 
home for many years of John Boyle O'Reilly. Let us fol- 
low Winthrop Street to the right until we come to Monument Square, 
and approach Bunker Hill Monument. The monument, which 
is a granite obelisk two hundred and twenty-one feet high, stands 
on Breed's Hill, which was the field of the battle. The corner stone 
was laid by Lafayette on the 17th of June, 1825, on the fiftieth an- 
niversary of the engagement, and the monument was dedicated on 
the 17th of June, 1843, when Daniel Webster delivered the oration, 
and President Ty'er with members of his cabinet were present. The 
shaft is thirty feet square at the base, and the interior is a hollow 
cone ascended by a spiral flight of two hundred and ninety-five 
steps leading to an observatory at the top, with windows at each 
side, affording a magnificent view of the surrounding country. At 
the base of the monument is a stone lodge with an interesting col- 
lection of relics of the battle and a statue of General Joseph Warren, 
by Henry Dexter. A low stone on the ground marks the precise 
spot where General Warren fell. The monument is built in courses 
of Quincy granite brought to the shipping point by the first railroad 
in the United States. Solomon Willard was the supervising archi- 
tect of the monument, but it was designed by the sculptor Greenough. 
The monument and lodge are open from eight to six daily, and the 
admission fee is twenty cents. If we approach from Monument 



THE NORTH END AND CHARLESTOWN 67 

Avenue, we shall pass the fine statue of Colonel William Prescott, 
by William W. Story, erected in 1881 very close to the spot 
where Prescott stood before the battle began, and gave the signal to 
fire by waving his sword. It represents him at the moment when he 
checked his impatient soldiers, who wished to fire as the enemy 
advanced up the hill, by the historic words, "Don't fire till I tell 
you! Don't fire till you see the w^hites of their eyes!" The statue 
unfortunately faces in the opposite direction to that in which 
Prescott stood when he gave the order to fire. The monument 
itself stands in the southeast corner of the site of the American 
redoubt, and parallel with the sides of that structure. 

Our road, after chmbing the monument, lies along High Street 
as far as Green Street, down which we turn to the left until we re- 
gain Main Street, just above the Thompson Square Station of the 
Elevated structure. Here on Main Street near by is the birthplace 
of Samuel Finley Breese Morse, the inventor of the electric 
telegraph. A short walk up Main Street brings us to Phipps Street, 
down which we shall turn to the left in order that we may visit the 
old burying ground, established shortly after the settlement 
of Charlestown. The most ancient stone in the ground bears the 
date 1652. Here is the John Harvard monument, designed by 
Solomon Willard, and erected in 1828 by Harvard graduates. Re- 
turning to Main Street, a moment's walk to the left brings us to the 
girlhood home of Charlotte Cushman, which is the building 
next to the corner of Main and Walker Streets, the lower floor of 
which is now used as a grocery store. From here we may take a 
surface car back to the city, changing, if we like, at Thompson 
Square to an Elevated train southbound, which will carry us back 
to town more quickly. 




MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL 

IV 

A WALK AROUND BOSTON COMMON AND 
THROUGH THE WEST END 

Our starting point is Park Street Church, but instead of turning 
north, we follow the Tremont Street mall of the Common south as 
far as Boylston Street. As we enter the Common, if we look sharply 
and the weather is warm, we may notice the telescope man still 
plying his trade as he did in the days when Oliver Wendell Holmes 
put him in "Over the Teacups." Set close to the Park Street 
wall opposite Park Street Church is a monument (1) bearing a 
stone which chronicles the first reservation of the Common as public 
ground in 1634. The little stone buildings which we see on the 
Common here and at intervals along Tremont Street are entrances 
to the Subway, which as first built extended south and then 
west from Park Street to the corner of Church and Boylston 
Streets, where it emerges at the surface (see map). At Boylston 
and Tremont Streets a spur continues south under Tremont Street 
and comes to the surface at Pleasant Street. Another spur from 
the same point continues under Boylston Street and Massachusetts 
and Commonwealth Avenues, to the junction of Beacon Street and 
Commonwealth Avenue, not far from the Brookline town line. 
Another extension runs north from Park Street to the North Station, 
passing Haymarket Square, where it connects with Elevated trains 
for Charlestown, the South Station, Dudley Street, and Forest 
Hills. From the North Station to a point a little north of Castle 
Street, Elevated trains run through what is known as the Washing- 
ton Street Tunnel. At Scollay Square, Subway cars also connect 

69 



70 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

with cars running through the East Boston Tunnel under the harbor 
to East Boston and points beyond, and in the opposite direction to 
Bowdoin »Square, the West End and Cambridgeport. Park Street 
is a way station of the Cambridge Tunnel to Harvard Square, and 
trains from Cambridge continue on past Park Street to the corner 
of Washington and Sum>mer Streets, where they connect with the 
Washington Street Tunnel. The tunnel from Cambridge is being 
continued to South Boston and Dorchester, and before the end of 
1916, trains will be running from Harvard Square to the South 
Station. The Subway is owned by the citj^ and leased to the Boston 
Elevated Railway Company. 

Nearly opposite the Park Street Subway Station is St. Paul's 
Church (2), the Episcopal pro-cathedral. It was built in 1820, 
and Prescott, the historian, was buried in a tomb beneath the church. 
In another tomb General Warren was buried for thirty years, but 
his remains now lie in Forest Hills Cemetery. Daniel Webster 
attended church here. 

The mall along which we are walking is known as Lafayette Mall, 
for when the illustrious Frenchman visited Boston in 1824 he 
passed along it on his reception day over a carpet of flowers cast 
in his path by school children lined along the way. 

We soon come to the Crispus Attucks Monument (3), com- 
memorating the Boston IMassacre. It is a simple shaft of granite 
with a bronze image of "Revolution," by Robert Kraus. At its 
base is a bas-relief reproducing a contemporary picture of the event, 
and the victims' names are inscribed on the shaft. At the foot of 
Lafayette Mall, Boylston Street is reached, but on our way we have 
passed Keith's Theatre (4) and the Tremont Theatre (5), 
very nearly on the site of the old Haymarket Theatre of 1796, which 
was the second theatre in Boston. The building on the northeast 
corner of Boylston and Tremont Streets is the Masonic Temple 
(6), and opposite is the Hotel Touraine (7), on the site of John 
Quincy Adams's mansion, where the elder Charles Francis Adams 
was born. Just east of the Touraine on Boylston Street are 
the headquarters of the Young Men's Christian Union (8), 
established in 1851. 

Before turning down Boylston Street to the right, let us continue 
up Tremont Street for a short distance past the Majestic Theatre 
(9), the Shubert Theatre (10), and the Wilbur Theatre (11), 




71 



72 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

all erected within recent years, until we come to Hollis Street, which 
has various interesting associations. At 31 Hollis Street was the 
home of Francis Jackson (12), president of the Anti-Slavery 
Society, and here he entertained Harriet Martineau on her historic 
visit in 1835. The Hollis Street Theatre (13) stands on the site, 
and is built in part within the walls of the old Hollis Street Church, 
built of brick in 1811, and succeeding earlier wooden churches on the 
same site erected in 1731 and 1793 respectively. Among the pastors 
of this church were the Rev. Mather Byles, the most brilliant Boston 
wit of the eighteenth century and a staunch Tory, John Pierpont, 
and Thomas Starr King. The old church was used by the British 
for barracks during the Siege of Boston. Nearly opposite the 
church was the home and school of Susanna Rowson (14), 
from 1811 to 1822. She will be rememlDcred as the author of 
"Charlotte Temple," one of the earliest and most popular of 
American novels. Somewhere on Hollis Street it would seem from 
the evidence that Edgar Allan Poe was born. At No. 37 Common 
Street, the next street above Hollis Street, Wendell Phillips died 
(15) in 1884. Returning down Tremont to Boylston Street, and 
passing Eliot Street, with the Plymouth Theatre (16) near by on 
the left, we follow it along the Common to Park Square, past the 
Colonial Theatre (17). The first oixming to the left is Boylston 
Place. No. 18 was formerly the home of John Lothrop Motley 
(18), while No. 19 was the residence of Julia Ward Howe (19) 
from 1866 to 1870. 

The next street on the left is Carver Street, on which some believe, 
though the evidence points rather to Hollis Street, that- Edgar 
Allan Poe was born. On the left-hand corner is Steinert Hall 
(20). Just below is Park Square, and looking down the long, wide 
stretch of Columbus Avenue, we may see on the left the castellated 
tower of the Armory of the First Corps of Cadets. 

From Park Square let us turn back into the Connnon, following 
the long transverse path which runs from Park Scjuare to West 
Street, skirting the Central Burying Ground (22), estabhshed 
in 1756, which contains among other graves that of Gilbert Stuart, 
the painter, commemorated by a bronze palette on the mall railing. 
Here, too, were the British fortifications commanding the waters of 
the Back Bay during the siege. 

A few words here seem fitting as to the past history of Boston 




/^99ml/ JffftKtff l^^^^mit 



73 



BOSTON COMMON AND THE WEST END 75 

Common, which in one sense is an epitome of the history of Boston. 
In 1634, four years after the settlement of Boston, the ground was 
set apart as a "place for a trayning field" and for "the feeding of 
cattell," and in 1640 a town order was passed reserving it for use 
as a common. It originally extended east across Tremont Street, 
including the district bounded by West, Tremont, and Mason 
Streets, and also north over the ground occupied by Park Street and 
the Granary Burying Ground as far as the present Tremont Building. 
In 1660, the Granary Burying Ground was marked off froin the 
Common. On the Charles Street side of the Common the waters 
of the Back Bay formerly washed its shore, and it was here that, 
on the night of the 18th of April, 1775, eight hundred British gren- 
adiers, infantry, and marines embarked for Cambridge on their 
way to Lexington and Concord. On the Common formerly stood 
the granary, almshouse, gunhouse, whipping post, and pillory. 
In 1745, the Louisburg forces were mustered here, and fourteen 
years later Lord Amherst's army encamped here before its march 
to Canada. In 1775-76 the Common was a fortified British camp; 
Rochambeau's army assembled here; and after the Siege of Boston 
Washington's soldiers were paraded and quartered here. Here 
finally assembled the volunteer regiments in the Civil War. 

We shall continue along the transverse mall, passing close to the 
new Parkman bandstand (23), until we come to the "Long 
Path" descending from Joy Street — the path which, it will be re- 
called, the Autocrat took with the Schoolmistress on a certain fateful 
morning. Let us follow it a little way up to the left till we come to 
the site of the Old Elm (24), a tree blown down in 1876, but which 
is supposed to have been old when the town was settled, and where 
rumor has it that th?re were executions in Colonial days, though 
it has recently been proved conclusively that the Quakers were 
hanged, not from a limb of this tree, but from the gallowstree 
out on the Neck beyond Dover Street. A tablet marks the place 
where the tree stood, and in its place is now a young tree sprung 
from a shoot of the old elm. It is supposed that Benjamin Wood- 
bridge was killed in a duel held under its branches. 

Near by is the Frog Pond (25), where the public waterworks 
were formally introduced in 1848, on an occasion for which Lowell 
wrote his '' Ode on Water." 

If we climb the hill whereon the British artillery were placed 



76 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

during the Siege of Boston, we shall come to the Army and Navy 
Monument (26), by Martin Milmore. erected in 1877, to commemo- 
rate those who died for the Union in the Civil War. A tall granite 
cohmm is surmounted by a statue representing the "Genius of 
America." At the base of the shaft are sculptured figures repre- 
senting the North, the South, the East, and the West, while below 
them are four statues on pedestals, representing respectively the 
Soldier, the Sailor, the Muse of History, and Peace. Between 
these four statues are bas-reliefs representing the Departure of 
the Regiment, the Sanitary Commission, the Achievements of 
the Navy, and the Return from the War and Surrender of the 
Battle Flags to the Governor. These battle flags, it will be re- 
called, are preserved in Memorial Hall in the State House. Descend- 
ing the hill on the western side, we come to the Parade Ground 
(27), which carries on the tradition of a training field for which part 
of the Common Avas originally set apart. Here the Ancient and 
Honorable Artillery Company train annually, as the old "Military 
Company" from which they are descended formerly trained in the 
seventeenth century, and here also every year the schoolboy regi- 
ments of Boston and the suburbs have their training day in May. 

Let us cross the Parade Ground diagonally, and leave the Common 
at the corner of Beacon and Charles Streets, and then ascend the 
hill by Beacon Street. The whole slope from Walnut Street down 
to the Charles River, and north as far as Mt. Vernon and Pinckney 
Streets, was owned by John Singleton Copley, the famous ])ainter, 
from 1769 to 1795. No. 68 Beacon Street was the home of James 
Russell Lowell's sister, and here the poet himself lived for 
some time. No. 55 was the residence of William Hickling 
Prescott (29), from 1845 to 1859, and here he wrote the "Conquest 
of Peru" and his "Philip the Second." A short distance up the hill 
we come to the stone building occupied by the Somerset Club (30), 
an exclusive club known as the home of the Brahmins. It occupies 
the site of the house in which Copley lived and painted his Boston 
portraits. Just alcove, on the lower corner of Walnut Street, is the 
house where Wendell Phillips was born (31). 

At the summit of the hill, just l^efore we reach the State House, 
is the site of the John Hancock mansion (32), marked by a 
tablet. Relics of the building, which was pulled down in 1863, are 
preserved in the Old State House. (See Walk II.) It was occupied 



BOSTON COMMON AND THE WEST END 77 

for a time by Lord Percy during the Siege of Boston. The Hancock 
estate, at the time when the Governor hved here, included the ground 
occupied by the State House and the Beacon Street slope as far 
south as Joy Street, and the mansion itself was set in from the 
street, and approached by a long flight of stone steps now used in 
Pinebank, Jamaica Park. 

Let us descend Beacon Street a little way and continue along 
Joy Street over the hill past Mount Vernon Street and the head- 
quarters of the Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor, 
until we come to Smith Court on the left, upon which stands an 
anti-slavery landmark (33), in the form of a brick meeting house 
now used as a synagogue, where, after a meeting on the evening of 
December 3, 1860, in memory of John Brown's execution, Wendell 
Phillips was accompanied to his home on Essex Street by a guard of 
forty young men with locked arms, who protected him from an angry 
mob. 

Returning up the hill, we pass Myrtle Street, and here it is worth 
noting that at No. 24 Myrtle Street lived the Rev. Rosea Ballou 
(34), from 1837 to 1846. He was a famous LTniversahst preacher 
and the first president of Tufts College. 

On reaching Mount Vernon Street again, we descend the hill for 
a little distance as far as Walnut Street. At No. 32 Mount \'ernon 
Street lived Julia Ward Howe (35) from 1870 to 1872, while No. 57 
was the home of Charles Francis Adams (36), Minister to Eng- 
land during the Civil War, historian, and son of John Quincy Adams. 
The house below. No. 59, was the residence of Thomas Bailey 
Aldrich (37) from 1884 until his death, and here much of his later 
work was written. Two doors below, at No. 63, was the home of 
Governor Claflin (38), where Whittier was wont to stay upon his 
visits to Boston. Its neighbor, No. 65, was the residence at one 
time of Henry Cabot Lodge (39). No. 53 is the home of the 
General Theological Library (40), an unsectarian collection of 
about 25,000 volumes, free to all New England clergymen. 

Let us descend Walnut Street, and pause before No. 8 (41), for 
this house would seem to have more than one interesting association. 
Here as a boy John Lothroji Motley i^robably lived, and played in a 
garret with his neighbor, little Wendell Phillips, and with Thomas 
Gold Appleton, afterwards Longfellow's brother-in-law, and the 
most brilliant Boston wit of the nineteenth century. The same 



78 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

house was later the residence of Francis Parkman, the historian, 
from 1856 to 1864. 

This house faces the head of Chestnut Street, which we will now 
descend as far as ^^'est Cedar Street. At No. 8 Chestnut Street 
lived George Parsons Lathrop (42), and his wife, Rose Hawthorne 
Lathrop, who was Hawthorne's daughter. Motley lived at No. 
11 (43) from about 1848 to 1851. No. 13 was the home of the 
Radical Club (44), which met here at the residence of Mrs. John 
T. Sargent. Formed in 1867 as a medium for the free and spon- 
taneous interchange of opinion among Boston literary and religious 
circles, it was a sort of spiritual descendant of the Transcendental 
Club of forty years before. Among those who have spoken at its 
meetings regularly are Emerson, Channing, Bartol, Mrs. Howe, 
the elder Henrj' James, Colonel Higginson, Frank Sanborn, and F. H. 
Hedge. The atmosphere of religious thought was Unitarian. In 
this house Julia Ward Howe lived from 1863 to 1865. No. 17 was 
the home of Cyrus A. Bartol (45), one of the last of the Trans- 
cendent alists, and a LTnitarian clergyman of jn-ominence. 

A little further down the hill, at No. 29, is the house of Edwin 
Booth (46), with its quaint panes of iiurple glass, and just below, 
at No. 33, was the residence of John G. Palfrey (47), the historian, 
while he was postmaster of Boston. At No. 37 lived the elder 
Richard Henry Dana (48), a distinguished poet and critic, and 
one of the founders of the ''North American Review." In later 
life he lived at No. 43 (49), and this house is associated with him for 
over forty years. No. 50 was the residence of Francis Park- 
man (50), the historian, from 1864 until his death in 1893, and 
here he composed most of his important historical works. No. 96 
was for some time the home of Miss Alice Brown, the well- 
known New England novelist and story-teller. 

It will be seen that Chestnut Street is probably as characteristic 
of the New England note in letters and life as any street of its size 
can well be. In a moment we shall see that Mount Vernon Street 
also possesses an individuahty of its own. We may reach Mount 
Vernon Street through West Cedar Street, which leads off Chestnut 
Street to the right. No. 3 West Cedar Street was the home for 
some time of Dr. T. W. Parsons (52), the poet, and No. 11 is the 
residence of Percival Lowell (53), the distinguished astronomer. 

Reaching IMount Vernon Street, we shall ascend the hill again 




BIRTHPLACE OF THE TELEPHONE 



79 



BOSTON COMMON AND THE WEST END 81 

for a little way, pausing first to note that at No. 112 Mount Vernon 
Street Margaret Deland resided (54) from 1888 to 1894, and that 
here some of her earher books were written. Nearly opposite at 
No. 99 was the home of John C. Ropes (55), a distinguished 
military historian, and one of the chief Napoleonic authorities of 
his day. CUmbing the hill, we pass at No. 92 the home from 
1877 to 1893 of Anne Whitney (56), the poet and sculptor, and in 
her studio in this building she modelled some of her most notable 
statues, including the statues of Leif Ericsson and Samuel Adams. 
(See Walk I.) No. 88 was the home of Mrs. A. D. T. Whitney 
(57), the writer of stories for girls, until her marriage in 1845, and 
here also lived her father. Colonel Enoch Train, who projected the 
line of fast clippers to Liverpool, and George Francis Train, the 
eccentric lecturer and traveller, who was Mrs. Whitney's cousin. 
No. 83 was the residence of William EUery Channing (58), for 
many years until his death in 1842. He was the leader of Unitarian- 
ism in America, and one of the foremost theological authorities of 
his day. His study in this house was the "Mecca of all sorts and 
conditions of men." No. 79 was the residence at one time of John 
D. Long (59), Governor of Massachusetts and Secretary of the 
Navy during the Spanish-American War; while at No. 76 Mrs. 
Margaret Deland lived (60) for several years, and wrote here, 
among other stories, "Phihp and His Wife." Just above, on the 
same side of the street, is the Theological School of Boston 
University (61). 

We must now retrace our steps for a moment until we come to 
Louisburg Square, with its ItaHan statuettes of Columbus (62) 
and Aristides (63) in an enclosed grass plot, supposed by many 
to include the site of the spring of John Blackstone (64), 
the first settler of Boston, who lived on the slope between Spruce 
and Charles Streets in a cottage with a rose garden, and owned 
an orchard which extended up the hill toward Louisburg Square. 
When he sold the whole of the peninsula to the Colonists for thirty 
pounds, he reserved to himself six acres, which were on the north- 
western slope of the hill, bounded on the south and west respectively 
by the Common and the Charles River, which then extended up 
to the present Charles Street line. Louisburg Square is a private 
enclosure within the city limits, is not a public thoroughfare, and is 
administered by its householders. Let us walk along the lower side 



82 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

of Louisburg Square, and note at No. 4 the heme of William Dean 
Howells (65) when editor of the "Atlantic Monthly." Opposite, at 
No. 5 (65A), Palfrey, the historian, lived from 1862 to 1867. No. 10 
was the residence of Louisa May Alcott (66) from 1885 until her 
death in 1888. l^hc did not die here, l)ut it was the house in which 
her father, A. Bronson Alcott of Concord, died. No. 20 has a 
romantic interest as the house in which Jenny Lind was married 
(67) in 1852. Nearly o] posite, on the upper corner of Pinckney 
Street, is St. Margaret's Hospital (68), in charge of the Protestant 
Episcopal Sistcrhccd of St. Margaret. 

Ascending the hill, we pass No. 67 Pinckney Street, associated 
with Miss Alice Brown (69), and No. 66, the home for several 
years of John Sullivan Dwight (70), a famous musical critic, and 
a member of the Brook Farm conimunit}-. No. 54 was the home of 
George Stillman Hillard (71). He was a prominent lawyer 
and educator of his day, but the house is of interest chiefly because 
Hawthorne used to frequent it, and because it is from here that he 
wrote to James Freeman Clarke requesting him to marry Sophia 
Peabody and himself. Hawthorne's sister-in-law, Elizabeth 
Peabody, lived (72) at No. 21, and kept a kindergarten there. 
No. 20 was the home of Louisa M. Alcott and her father (73) 
in the fifties, while No. 16 is associated with Miss Louise Imogen 
Guiney (74), the distinguished poet, essaj'ist, and editor. No. 11 
was for many years the home of Edwin P. Whipple (75), the 
brilliant essayist and critic, and is now the home of Miss Alice 
Brown, while, finally. No. 4 was the residence of Jacob Abbott 
(76), the father of Dr. Lyman Abbott, and the author of the "Hollo" 
books and of innumerable stories for children. 

We must now descend the hillagain to Charles Street, jausing 
to note at No. 81 that Louisa M. Alcott once lived here (77), 
and at No. 84 the home of Thomas Bailey Aldrich (78) after 
his marriage, where he wrote the "Story of a Bad Boy," and where 
Longfellow got the inspiration for his "Hanging of the Crane." 
Just below Charles Street, at No. 98 Pinckney Street, lived Celia 
Thaxter, the poet, for several winters. 

Our route now lies along Charles Street to the right. For some 
little distance there is little to interest us, but at No. 148 Charles 
Street, we come to the home of Mr. and Mrs. James T. Fields 
(80), until their deaths in 1881 and 1914 respectively. Mr. Fields 



BOSTON COMMON AND THE WEST END 83 

was a jjublislier and author of distinction, with a genius for friend- 
ships, and Mrs. Fields had published interesting volumes of rem- 
iniscences and poetry of note. Here also for many years Sarah 
Orne Jewett passed the winter, and in the long drawing-room on 
the second floor a host of distinguished visitors, including Dickens, 
Thackeray, Matthew Arnold, and many others, have been 
entertained. Thomas Bailey Aldrich lived (81) at No. 131 from 
1871 to 1881, and here he wrote "Marjorie Daw," "Prudence 
Palfrey," "The Queen of Sheba," and "The Stillwater Tragedy." 
At No. 164, in a house lately torn down, lived Oliver Wendell 
Holmes (82) from 1869 to 1871. Here he wrote "The Professor 
at the Breakfast Table," "The Guardian Angel," and "Elsie 
Venner," as well as "Dorothy Q," and his war poems. Just below 
is the Nurses' Home of the Massachusetts Charitable Eye and 
Ear Infirmary (83), and beyond is the Longfellow Bridge 
running over to Cambridge, and separating the parkway of the 
Charles River Basin on the south from the Charlesbank parkway 
on the north. The Charlesbank, which connects the Longfellow 
and Craigie Bridges, contains gymnasiums and children's play- 
grounds, as well as an esplanade along the river front. On Charles 
Street, below Cambridge Street, are the County Jail (85), 
Peabody House, The Ginn Model Apartments, and the 
Massachusetts Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary, but these 
are off our route. Let us turn up Cambridge Street to the right, 
and follow it for a short distance until we come to North Grove 
Street, along which we shall proceed to the left as far as Fruit Street, 
which brings us to the Massachusetts General Hospital (89), 
and the old building of the Harvard Medical School (90), 
famous as the scene of the Parkman murder in 1849. Following 
Fruit Street to the right as far as Blossom Street, we turn up the 
latter street to the left, and come to the entrance of the Massa- 
chusetts General Hospital (91). The main building of the group, 
which is also the oldest, was designed by Charles Bulfinch, the archi- 
tect of the State House, and has an historic interest, inasmuch as 
the first successful operation upon a patient who was under the 
influence of ether was performed here in the old ojDerating room in 
October, 1846. The ether was administered by Dr. W. T. G. Mor- 
ton, who discovered its value as a safe anaesthetic. 

McLean Street opens off Blossom Street to the right, opposite the 



84 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

hospital grounds, and we shall proceed along it as far as Chambers 
Street, turn slightly to the right down Chambers Street, and then 
proceed along Green Street, which opens off to the left, until we come 
to Lynde Street, on the right. No. 42 Green Street was the home 
of Harriet Beecher Stowe (92), from 1826 to 1832. We follow 
Lynde Street to Cambridge Street, and the Old West Church 
(93), now used as the West End Branch of the Boston Public 
Library, but formerly the pulpit for forty years of the Rev. Cyrus 
A. Bartol, and of James Russell Lowell's father, the Rev. Charles 
Lowell. The present building dates from 1806, and supersedes an 
earlier church on the same site built in 1736-37, and used as a bar- 
racks in 1775. The steeple was then removed because it had been 
used for signalling to the Continental Camp in Cambridge. 

Almost opposite Lynde Street, Hancock Street ascends Beacon 
Hill from Cambridge Street, and we shall climb it for a few yards 
that we may see at No. 20 Hancock Street the house in which 
Charles Sumner lived (94) from 1830 to 1867. 

Returning down the hill and continuing down Cambridge Street 
to the right, we pass at No. 34 (95) the home of Harriet Prescott 
Spofford in the sixties, and a minute's walk will bring us to Bowdoin 
Square, once the seat of handsome mansions surrounded by gardens 
and orchards, but now much fallen from its old estate. In Bowdoin 
Square, however, still stands the Revere House (96), at one time 
the most fashionable hotel in Boston, and a favorite resort of Daniel 
Webster and the famous politicians of his day. It entertained 
in its time many distinguished guests, notably in 1861, King Edward 
VII, when Prince of Wales. From its iron-railed balcony Daniel 
Webster delivered many a famous speech. 

We may continue to the right down Court Street for a few yards, 
and then turn up Bui finch Street to the right to Howard Street, 
thus passing the old Howard Athenaeum (97), once a famous 
first-class theatre. Howard Street leads us into Scollay Square, 
where our walk ends. At the head of Sudbury Street is the Palace 
Theatre, on the wall of which is a tablet marking the site of the 
building where the telephone was invented by Dr. Alexander 
Graham Bell. 




85 




THE PUBLIC GARDEN 

V 

A WALK ACROSS THE BACK BAY 

(3uR starting point for the walk across the Back Bay is Park 
Square, and, after pausing to examine the Emancipation Group 
(1>, by Thomas Ball, which represents the freeing of the slaves by 
President Lincoln, and observing the Park Square Theatre (2), 
formerly the Cort Theatre, we enter the Public Garden (3), and 
proceed along the diagonal path in the direction of the i)ond. Charles 
Street, which separates the Public Garden from the Common, marks 
with tolerable accuracy the old shore line of the city, and the terri- 
tory over which we shall walk to-day is practically all made land, 
taking the place of the old "Back Bay" from which it receives its 
name. The Public Garden was formerly known as the "Round 
Marsh," and in early days was the seat of a ropewalk. The old 
"Back Bay" was an enclosed basin bounded by dams, known as 
the "Mill Dam" on the site of Beacon Street, the "Cross Dam," 
connecting the Mill Dam with Roxl^ury, and the causeway now 
covered by Brookline Avenue. The filling in of the bay was begun 
in 1857 and completed in 1886 by the Commonwealth, who sold 
the land at a large profit after improvements had been made. The 
Pubhc Garden was laid out by the city in 1862, and contains about 
twenty-three acres. Famed for its floral displays, it is distinctly 
the most attractive of the parks in the heart of the city. In the 
centre of the garden is an artificial pond spanned by a footbridge. 
At the centre gate on Charles Street is a statue of Edward Everett 
Hale (4), by Bela L. Pratt, erected in 1912. Crossing the pond by 
the footbridge, a moment's walk brings us to the equestrian 

87 



88 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

statue of Washington (5), by Thomas Ball, erected in 1869. 
Around this statue centres the chief floral display of the garden. 
Continuing to the right for a short distance, we come to the Ether 
Monument (6), by J. Q. A. Ward. Erected in 1868, it com- 
memorates the discovery of ether as an anaesthetic, and the first 
successful operation upon a patient under its influence, which, it 
will be recalled, took place in the Massachusetts General Hospital. 
(See Walk IV.) W^e may now retrace our steps along the Arhngton 
Street side of the Pubhc Garden until we come to Boylston Street. 
The three statues facing Boylston Street, between this corner and 
the ]ioint whore we entered the Public Garden, are the statue of 
Charles Sumner (7), by Thomas Ball, erected in 1878; Richard 
E. Brooks's statue of Colonel Thomas Cass (8) (erected in 1889), 
who commanded the Ninth Massachusetts Regiment in the Civil 
War and was killed in action; and Daniel C. French's fine statue 
of Wendell Phillips (9), erected in 1914. 

Leaving \ho Public Garden at the corner of Arlington and Boylston 
Streets, very near to where the electric cars emerge from the Sub- 
way, we find ourselves before the Arlington Street Church (10), 
occupied by a LTnitarian congregation. Suggesting in its exterior 
some of Sir Christopher Wren's London churches, it was erected 
in 1860-61, and succeeds the old Federal Street Church, of which 
William EUery Channing was the head for so many years. The 
association of Channing with this congregation is recalled to the 
visitor by the beautiful Channing Memorial (11), facing the 
church on the opposite side of Arlington Street. The bronze figure 
of Channing is the work of Herbert Adams, while the granite and 
marble canojiy was designed by Vincent C. Griffith. The statue 
was erected in 1903, and there are inscriptions on the stone face 
and at the rear. 

Returning down Arlington Street to the right, we pass Newbury 
Street on the left, and may see on the right-hand side of Newbury 
Street, if we look closely, the Emmanuel Church (12), a Protestant 
Episcopal congregation, which is the mother church of the well- 
known Emmanuel movement. No. 2 Newbury Street is the home 
of the St. Botolph Club (13), organized in 1880, and now a favorite 
resort of literary, artistic, and professional men. During the winter 
it holds many exhibitions of paintings in its art gallery. No. 28 
is the new home of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 



ACROSS THE BACK BAY 89 

(14), founded in 1780. The present building was erected in 1912 in 
memory of Alexander Agassiz. Of this academy, Franklin, Hancock, 
and John and Samuel Adams were early members. It has a fine 
library and publishes its transactions. We continue along Arling- 
ton Street until we come to Commonwealth Avenue, the finest 
avenue in the city, with its tree-shaded parkway and its succession 
of statues. Beginning at the Public Garden, it continues out for 
many miles through Brighton to the Newton city line. No. 10 
Commonwealth Avenue was the residence of Thomas Gold 
Appleton (15) from 1864 to 1884. He was Longfellow's brother- 
in-law, and has the reputation of being perhaps the most brilliant 
wit that Boston produced in the nineteenth century. In the centre 
of the parkway is a statue of Alexander Hamilton (16), by William 
Rimmer, which was the first statue in the country to be cut out of 
granite. It was erected in 1865. 

Other statues on Commonwealth Avenue, between this point 
and Exeter Street, are those of General John Glover of Marble- 
head, a Revolutionary soldier, by Martin Milmore, erected in 1875, 
and of William Lloyd Garrison, by Olin L. Warner, erected in 
1886. Beyond, at the entrance to the Fenway, are statues of Leif 
Ericsson, the Norse discoverer, by Anne Whitney, erected in 1886, 
and of the late Mayor Patrick A. Collins, by Mr. and Mrs. H. H. 
Kitson, erected in 1908. 

The first street we come to is Berkeley Street, and here we shall 
turn down to the right for a moment as far as Marlborough Street 
to visit the present home of the First Church of Boston (17), 
erected in 1868. The original meeting house was built on State 
Street in 1632. The present edifice succeeds a former church on 
Chauncy Street, just ofT Summer Street, built in 1808, when Ralph 
Waldo Emerson's father was minister of the congregation. On 
the Marlborough Street lawn of the church stands a statue of 
John Winthrop (18), by Richard S. Greenough, which formerly 
stood in Scollay Square at the head of Cornhill. It is a copy of 
the marble statue in the Capitol at W^ashington, and represents the 
Governor stepping ashore with the Bible and the charter of the 
Colony in his hands. Let us return along Berkeley Street to New- 
bury Street. On the corner of Berkeley and Newbury Streets 
is the Central Congregational Church (19), a fine Gothic edifice 
erected in 1867. It has the tallest church spire in the city, being 



90 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

236 feet high. No. 35 Newbury Street has been the home of 
Margaret Deland (20) since 1902. 

Between Newbury and Boylston Streets, and facing on Berkeley 
Street, is the Natural History Museum (21), open free to the 
pubhc on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4.30 p.m., 
and on Sunday afternoons, and on other days from 10 a.m. to 4.30 
P.M. on payment of an admission fee of twenty-five cents. The 
building is occupied by the Boston Society of Natural History, 
which dates from 1831, and the present museum was erected in 
1864. The collections themselves are interesting and important. 
On the ground floor are mineralogical and geological exhibition 
rooms, the library of the society, and a lecture hall. The second 
floor is devoted to a synoptic collection, an exhibition of stuffed 
animals, with fossil collections, and skeletons of extinct animals. 
There are also botanical specimens, and an interesting collection 
of trees and shrub specimens, and of shells. These are to be found 
in the galleries. The third and fourth floors are deVoted to orni- 
thology for the most part, and include the Lafresnaye collection 
of birds, nests, and eggs. In the basement, on the Boylston Street 
side, are study rooms and laboratories, occupied by the Teachers' 
School of Science, and on the Newbury Street side are the rooms 
of the Massachusetts Audubon Society. 

About half a mile down Berkeley Street, beyond Boylston Street, 
is the Franklin Union, an industrial and trade school supported 
by a fund of one thousand pounds left by Benjamin Franklin in 1790. 
After an interval of one hundred and four years, in 1894, the original 
bequest amounted to $431,000, of which sum $329,300 was apjilied 
to the building of the Franklin LTnion. Directly opposite the Young 
Women's Christian Association can be seen. The first Young 
Women's Christian Association was established on March 3, 1866, 
in Mrs. Henry F. Durant's house on Mount Vernon Street. The 
national organization now has two hundred and forty-five asso- 
ciations with a membership of 273,000. 

If we continue along Boylston Street to the right, we shall pass 
two buildings of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 
(22) and (23) respectively. The nearer building, known as the 
Rogers Building, also harbors the Lowell Lectures, an important 
aspect of the work done by the Lowell Institute, founded in 1839 




91 



ACROSS THE BACK BAY 93 

by the will of John Lowell, Jr. On this foundation, a long line of 
lecturers of international fame have lectured annually, and the 
lectures are open freely to the pubhc, thus becoming one of the most 
characteristic phases of Boston intellectual life. 

The Institute itself w^as founded by Professor W. B. Rogers, 
after whom the Rogers Building is named, in 1861, and is rerhaps 
the foremost school of applied science in the country. Beyond 
the Rogers Building is the Walker Building, while on Trinity Place, 
just around the corner to the left, are the Henry L. Pierce and the 
Engineering Buildings. The new buildings of the Institute are 
now being erected in Cambridge, and when they are completed 
its present home will be abandoned. 

For the present, we shall turn into Clarendon Street to the right 
and follow it to where it ends on the Charles River Basin. Just 
below Newbury Street, at No. 233 Clarendon Street, is the rectory 
of Trinity Church (24), where Phillips Brooks lived for many 
years until his death. On the corner of Commonwealth Avenue, 
we come to the First Baptist Church (25), with its notable Floren- 
tine tower. It is the lineal descendant of the Baptist Church in the 
North End, built in 1679 and nailed up by the officers of the court 
shortly after. The bas-reliefs on the stone tower, which rises one 
hundred and seventy-six feet, represent baptism, communion, 
marriage, and death, while the statues represent the judgment angels 
blowing golden trum])ets. These figures were designed by Bartholdi. 

A moment's walk brings us to the Charles River Basin and the 
Embankment along the river front, with its fine esplanade. The 
land covered by this parkway has been reclaimed from the river in 
recent years. The Charles River itself has been celebrated so many 
times by the New England poets that it has grown to be a literary 
tradition. We may follow this esplanade for a short distance to 
the left as far as Dartmouth Street, and then turn from Dartmouth 
Street into Beacon Street, which we shall follow up the river for a 
short distance, in order that we may pass certain residences with 
interesting literary associations. No. 241 Beacon Street was the 
last home of Julia Ward Howe (26), and it was here that she 
died. It is also associated with the personality of her nephew, F. 
rvlarion Cra^^ord, the novelist. Somewhat further up Beacon 
Street, on the water side, lived Oliver Wendell Holmes (27), at 
No. 296, from 1871 until his death in 1894. His study, which was 



94 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

in the rear of the second floor overlooking the river, may be seen 
from the embankment and has been hos])ital)le to man}' distinguished 
visitors. At No. 302 lived William Dean Howells (28) from 
1885 to 1887, and at No. 361, Richard Henry Dana, 2d, lived 
(29) from 1874 to 1880. He is best remembered as the author of 
"Two Years Before the Mast." 

Our road now lies along Fairfield Street to Marlborough Street, 
and it will l^e well to return along Marlborough Street for a block 
that we may get an idea of this characteristic note in Boston life. 
No. 312 Marlborough Street (30) has interesting literary associa- 
tions with Henry James and many other famous literary men. At 
Exeter Street, we shall turn east toward Newbury Street, and note 
on the one corner of Newbury Street the South Congregational 
Church (31), once the pulpit of Edward Everett Hale. On 
another corner is the Massachusetts Normal Art School 
(32). 

Returning along Newbury Street, we take Dartmouth Street to 
the right, passing the Boston Art Club (33), in whose galleries 
many interesting exhibitions are held during the season, and soon 
find ourselves in Copley Square. On the corner of Dartmouth and 
Boylston Streets is the New Old South Church (34), a fine Gothic 
structure, with a tower rising to a height of 248 feet. A tablet on 
the Boylston Street face of the church bears the inscription, "Old 
South Church. Preserved and blessed of God for more than two 
hundred years while worshipping on its original site, corner of 
Washington and Milk Streets, whence it was removed to this build- 
ing in 1875, amid constant proofs of his guidance and loving favor. 
Qui transtulit sustinet." Opposite the church is the central build- 
ing of the Boston Public Library (35), while facing the library 
across the square is Trinity Church (36). Between the two, on 
the right-hand side of the square, the Copley-Plaza Hotel marks the 
site of the Old Art Museum (37), while on Boylston Street, 
midway between Dartmouth and Clarendon Streets, is the site of the 
Second Church (38), a descendant of the Old North Church in 
North Square, founded in 1649, and now merged with another 
congregation. It had many distinguished ministers in its history, 
notable among whom were Increase and Cotton Mather, John 
Lathrop, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. 

On Huntington Avenue, before Trinity Church, is the Phillips 



ACROSS THE BACK BAY 95 

Brooks Memorial (39), erected in 1910. The statue, which repre- 
sents Philhps Brooks in the pulpit, with Christ, the inspiration, 
standing behind, his hand on the preacher's shoulder, is by Augustus 
Saint-Gaudens, while the canopy is the design of Charles F. McKim. 
Trinity Church (36), consecrated in 1877, succeeds the old 
edifice on Summer and Hawley Streets. The congregation is 
descended from the third Episcopal church in Boston, established 
in 1728. The present building is the masterpiece of H. H. Richard- 
son, and in one sense the symbol of the renaissance of American 
architecture. In style it is French Romanesque, built of reddish- 
yellow granite with brown freestone trimmings. The tower is 211 
feet high. A cloister connects the church with the chapel, and in 
this cloister, which is open, are stones from the St. Botolph Church 
in Boston, England, presented by the congregation of that church. 
The interior decorations of the church are the work of John La 
Farge. The church is associated in the minds of most people with 
the life and work of the saintly Phillips Brooks, who was rector 
of the church from 1869 to 1891. The beautiful Galilee Porch 
facing Copley Square was added in 1894-97. 

The first building on Boylston Street beyond the Public Library 
is the home of Boston University (40), and here instruction is 
given in the faculty of arts and sciences. On Exeter Street, at the 
corner of Blagden Street, is the Boston Athletic Association. 

Let us now enter the Boston Public Library (35) . The library 
system includes this Central Library, twelve branch libraries in 
various parts of the city, and sixteen other reading rooms, at all 
of which books freely circulate. Moreover, regular deposits of 
books are placed in about two hundred schools and fire engine 
houses. The Central Library is open daily, except Sunday, from 
9 A.M. to 10 P.M. (9 A.M. to 9 P.M. during the summer months), 
and on Sunday from noon to 10 p.m. (noon to 9 p.m. during the 
summer months). The branches are open at about the same hours, 
while the hours at which reading rooms are open vary in individual 
cases. The library is governed by a board of trustees, appointed 
by the mayor, a librarian and an assistant librarian, while the work 
of administration is carried on by a staff of nearly three hundred 
assistants on week days, and one hundred on Sundays and in the 
evenings. 

The library contains over 900,000 volumes, and about 30,000 



96 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

volumes are added annually. It is free to all. Only residents of 
Boston have the privilege of withdrawing books from the building, 
but any visitor has the freedom of the collection, and may use any 
of its books in the building. The circulation every year of books 
for home use averages over a million and a half of volumes, and 
these figures do not take account of the vast number of books con- 
sulted within the library. It serves the whole country by means 
of its system of inter-library loans, and co-operates with art institu- 
tions and schools, offering special facilities to teachers and pupils. 
It maintains its own printing and binding establishments, publishes 
quarterly and weekly bulletins of new accessions, prints its own 
catalogue cards, and issues much other literature of a bibliographical 
nature. The city annually appropriates about $300,000 tow^ards 
its maintenance, and it has an income of about $400,000 from in- 
vested trust funds. The architects of the present Central Library 
building, opened in 1895, are McKim, Mead & White, and it w^as 
erected at a cost of $2,500,000. 

The main entrance to the Central Library is on Copley Square, 
though there is a special entrance on Boylston Street, which gives 
access to the Lecture Hall, where an interesting course of lectures 
on literary, artistic, and civic topics is maintained during the 
winter. Let us enter by this Copley Square door, after pausing to 
admire the seated figures representing "Science" and "Art" by 
Bela L. Pratt, which grace the steps in front of the building. 

The seal of the library over the main entrance is the work of 
Augustus Saint-Gaudens. In the vestibule is a statue of Sir Harry 
Vane, by Frederick MacMonnies, while the bronze doors beyond 
are the work of Daniel C. French. The doorw^ays to the entrance 
hall are copied from the Temple of Erechtheus on the Acropolis at 
Athens. Passing through one of these doorways, w^e find ourselves 
before the main staircase of yellow Siena marble, with steps of ivory- 
gray French marble. On the ground floor, to the left, are the cata- 
logue, shelf, receiving, and ordering departments, not open to the 
public, with the branch department and stacks beyond. To the 
right are two small exhibition rooms, the newspaper room, where 
over three hundred newspapers are received regularly, and the two 
periodical rooms, where the visitor may consult over fifteen hundred 
periodicals which are regularly received. Here, too, are files of 
bound periodicals also accessible to the visitor. Beyond is the 




NEW OLD SOUTH CHURCH 



ACROSS THE BACK BAY 99 

entrance to the courtyard, bordered by a pleasant cloister and a 
fountain plashing in the centre of the lawn. Across the courtyard 
are the patent room, the newspaper files, and the statistical de- 
partment, reached by a special staircase. The courtyard contains 
interesting sculptural memorials. 

Returning to the entrance of the library, we shall now ascend the 
main staircase, pausing to admire the lions by Louis Saint-Gaudens, 
commemorating the soldiers of two Massachusetts Regiments who 
fell in the Civil War. A balcony opens off the landing into the 
courtyard. 

As we ascend the staircase, we observe the beautiful mural decora- 
tions by Puvis de Chavannes. The wall of the upper corridor has 
a painting by de Chavannes, representing "The Muses Greeting 
the Genius of Enhghtenment," while the eight panels around the 
staircase respectively represent Philosophy, Astronomy, and His- 
tory; Chemistry and Physics; and Pastoral, Dramatic, and Epic 
Poetry. 

Directly opposite the main staircase an arched passage leads into 
Bates Hall, the chief reading room of the library, named after 
Joshua Bates, a merchant who endowed the library in 1852. The 
hall is two hundred and eighteen feet long, forty-two and a half 
feet wide, and fifty feet high. On open shelves around the hall is 
a reference collection of about nine thousand volumes, while at 
the foot of the hall is the main card catalogue of the library. The 
hall accommodates about three hundred readers, and a visitor 
seated at one of its tables, whether a resident of Boston or not, 
may have any volume in the stacks brought to him at his request. 
There are numerous interesting busts in the hall. 

Returning to the main outer corridor and turning to the right as 
we face the courtyard, we enter the Children's Room, with a col- 
lection of about nine thousand volumes of juvenile literature on 
open shelves freely accessible to the children. Along one wall may 
be seen the valuable Chamberlain collection of autographs. Open- 
ing off the Children's Room is the Children's Reference Room, 
where children come to study, and where there is a small collection 
of reference books that may help them. The ceiling of the Children's 
Reference Room is adorned with a painting by John Elliott, which 
represents the "Triumph of Time," a male figure representing time, 
twelve female figures the hours, and twenty horses the centuries 



100 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

of the Christian era. Above the children's reference collection 
is the private library of President John Adams. It is interesting 
as a revelation of what a cultivated gentleman of the eighteenth 
century chose for his shelves. 

Returning through the staircase corridor, we cross it to the oppo- 
site end, and enter the Delivery Room, with its famous paintings 
by Edwin A. Abbey, representing the legend of the Holy Grail. 
Mr. Abbey has accepted the British Galahad legend, and the first 
painting represents an angel reveahng the Grail to the infant Gala- 
had. The second picture shows the youth after his all-night vigil 
before setting out upon his adventures. In the third panel Galahad 
is being led by Joseph of Arimathea before Arthur and the Knights of 
the Round Table to the Siege Perilous, before which in golden letters 
is the inscription, ''This is the seat of Galahad." In the fourth 
panel the knights, under the leadership of Galahad, are pausing 
for the episcopal benediction before setting out upon the quest for 
the Grail. The fifth picture reveals the Grail Castle and Amfortas, 
the keeper of the Grail, lying sick in deathless age, while the Pro- 
cession of the Grail passes before the youth Galahad's unquestioning 
eyes. Had Galahad asked the question, the veil would have been 
lifted, and the secret won. As it is, he must continue on his quest. 
In the sixth picture, we see Sir Galahad mocked and cursed by the 
Loathly Lady, and two companions who are under the spell. The 
seventh panel reveals the knight striving single-handed against the 
seven Knights of the Deadly Sins, who keep the Virtues in prison. 
We next see Galahad receiving the keys of the prison, after his 
victory, from a monk, who blesses him. In the next picture he is 
received by the Virtues, a procession of beautiful maidens. The 
following panel reveals Galahad taking leave of Blanchefleur, whom 
he has wedded, to continue on the quest. The next picture shows 
Galahad with Amfortas, the dying king from whom the Knight 
has removed the spell. Amfortas dies in Galahad's arms, and the 
Angel of the Grail floats above them leading Galahad away. In 
the following panel, Galahad sets out unarmed from a peaceful 
land, and the people bless him as he goes. In the next picture, he 
is kneeling in a boat which the angel bearing the Grail is piloting to 
Sarras. We see the city of Sarras in a little panel. Galahad is 
now king of Sarras and consecrates a holy place upon a hill and 
builds a golden tree. Then Joseph of Arimathea appears with thg 




101 



ACROSS THE BACK BAY 103 

Grail, surrounded by a company of angels. The crown, sceptre, 
and robe fall from Galahad, and he gazes at the Grail in adoration 
with the sinless purity of a child. 

The Delivery Room is the chief distributing place of books for 
home use, and it is here that such books are returned. It includes 
a card catalogue of EngHsh prose fiction, which supplements the 
Bates Hall catalogue, and opening off it to the right is the Regis- 
tration Department, as well as the offices of the Librarian and 
Trustees. 

Let us return across the main staircase corridor to the entrance 
of the Children's Room, and ascend the staircase to the third floor, 
which opens off from the corridor at this end. The decorations of 
this Venetian lobby are the work of Joseph Lindon Smith. Midway 
on the long staircase, a little balcony opens off to the left, giving a 
fine view of Bates Hall from above. At the head of the staircase 
we find ourselves in Sargent Hall, so called from the fine mural 
paintings by John S. Sargent which adorn the gallery. Only a 
portion of the decorations are now in place, but the completed 
design is intended to reveal the triumph of rehgion. The panels 
on the east wall represent the struggle in the Jewish nation between 
polytheism and monotheism. The lunette, representing this struggle, 
is in some measure interpreted by the chorus of Hebrew prophets 
representing the behef in monotheism. Parts of the decoration 
are modelled in relief, thus setting a new precedent in mural decora- 
tion. The panel at the west end of the hall represents the dogma 
of the Redemption. 

Midway between the two ends of the hall, a flight of steps leads 
into the Allen A. Brown Library of Music, a fine reference collection 
of scores and musical Hterature. The door under the frieze of the 
Prophets leads into the Barton-Ticknor Room, with its unrivalled 
collection of Shakespeareana, including the first four folios, and most 
of the quartos; George Ticknor's private Spanish library, said to be 
the most comprehensive collection of Spanish literature in the world; 
the Artz collection of English and American poetry, maintained 
in memory of Longfellow; the Prince library of New England history, 
which was kept before the Revolution in the Old South Meeting 
House (See Walk II); the library of the Boston Browning Society; a 
special Whitman collection; the Thayer collection of extra-illustrated 
books; the 20th Regiment collection of books on the Civil War; the 



104 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

Galatea collection of books about women; the Bowditch mathematical 
and astronomical collection; the Allen A. Brown dramatic collection; 
and various other special collections of books which do not circulate 
outside the building. This is the treasure room of the liljrary, and 
here may be seen a valuable collection of Bibles and illuminated 
manuscripts, beside many rare and priceless volumes. The gallery 
opening off the Barton-Ticknor Room to the left is reserved for the 
use of authors, editors, and students, w^ho are assigned special seats, 
and may reserve for indefinite periods such books as they may need 
for continuous reference. In the Barton-Ticknor Room may be 
seen various objects of historic and literary interest, notably George 
Ticknor's desk. 

We return to Sargent Hall, and cross it to the opposite end. The 
room at the foot of the gallery which we now enter is the exhibition 
room of the Fine Arts Department. Here exhibitions of photographs 
from the library collections are held, and these for the most part 
illustrate the lectures held from week to week in the library lecture 
hall. In the cases in the centre of the room are exhibited various 
treasures of the library, such as books, autographs, and manuscripts, 
while some of the best pieces of statuary in the building are per- 
manently shown in this room. 

The gallery opening ofT to the right leads to the main reading 
room of the Fine Arts Department, with a reference collection of 
books on the fine arts and industrial arts, and a large collection of 
photographs in dust proof cases. Beyond this reading room is 
the West Gallery, reserved for research use by students of fine and 
industrial arts. The library co-operates with the various art schools 
of the city, and here conferences are arranged with instructors of 
the Lowell Institute, while frequently lectures are given in this 
gallery to limited audiences. It is also utilized for University 
Extension conferences. 

An elevator in Sargent Hall, close to the door of the Fine Arts 
Exhibition Room, will carry us down to the street, and our way then 
lies up Huntington Avenue to the right. We may note that on 
Dartmouth Strest, just b3yond Huntington Avenue, are the Copley 
Theatre (41), the Back Bay Station (42) of the New York, 
New Haven & Hartford Railroad, and the Trinity Place and 
Huntington Avenue Stations (43 and 44), respectively the 
outward and inward stations of the Boston & Albany division of 




105 



ACROSS THE BACK BAY 107 

the New York Central Lines. Further down Dartmouth Street 
is the H-shaped building, which is the home of the Boston Latin 
School and the Boys' English High School (45 and 46). 

On Boylston Street, several blocks beyond the Public Library, 
and at the corner of the Fenway, is the building of the Massa- 
chusetts Historical Society, founded in 1791, and thus the 
oldest historical society in the United States. It contains a valuable 
library of about forty-five thousand volumes and seventy-five 
thousand pamphlets, and over the entrance to the library are the 
crossed swords which are mentioned at the opening of Thackeray's 
novel, "The Virginians," and which were worn at Bunker Hill 
by the grandfathers of the historian Prescott and of his wife respec- 
tively. A small museum of curiosities is open to the pubUc free of 
charge on \Yednesday afternoons from two to five, and here may be 
seen, among other relics, the cannon ball which struck the old Brattle 
Square Church during the siege, and the wooden Indian which 
formerly surmounted the Province House. In the upper hall is a 
model of the meeting house. The society has published nearly two 
hundred volumes of great historic importance. Near by on the 
Fenway is the building of the Boston Medical Library, founded 
in 1874, which includes, among other treasures, the medical library 
of Oliver Wendell Holmes (of whom there are various mementoes 
in Holmes Hall), and the Storer Collection of Medical Medals. The 
library is fourth in size among the medical libraries of the country, 
and here is deposited, accessible to the public, the medical collection 
of the Boston Public Library. Near by is the monument to John 
Boyle O'Reilly, the Irish poet, editor, and exile. 

A short walk up Huntington \ venue from the Boston Public 
Library, past the train yards ot the Boston & Albany Railroad, 
will bring us to Mechanics But iing (49), where the Mechanics 
Fair and similar industrial ey.hibitions and events requiring large 
floor space are invariably held. The Mechanics Association, whose 
first president was Paul Revere, conducts a trade school in the 
basement. Looking down West Newton Street to the right, we 
may see the high brick buildings of the Mechanic Arts High School 
for Boys (50). 

Beyond, on the right, we come to a little park, which we may cross, 
and if it be Wednesday or Friday, thus enter the First Church of 
Christ, Scientist (51), which is the Mother Church of Christian 



108 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

Science. The original church is the little building on the corner of 
Norway Street, but the recently built temple almost completely 
overshadows it, with its magnificent dome, rising to a height of two 
hundred and twenty feet. The main auditorium seats five thousand, 
and has a remarkable organ. 

Continuing up Huntington Avenue, we pass Horticultural 
Hall (52), the home of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, 
where exhibitions of flowers and fruit are held in season, and lectures 
on horticultural tojiics are given during the winter. Just beyond 
is Symphony Hall (53), the present home of the Boston Symphony 
Orchestra, and the chief concert hall of the city. Two identical 
series of twenty-four symphony concerts are given during the season, 
on Friday afternoons at two-thirty and Saturday evenings at eight, 
and many other concerts are given in the hall. 

A little beyond, on the opposite side of the avenue, is the 
New England Conservatory of Music, the chief school of its 
kind in the United States, established in 1867. In this building 
is Jordan Hall, where many concerts are given. Adjoining the 
Conservatory is the large building of the Young Men's Christian 
Association. 

Somewhat further out on the right is the Boston Opera 
House, opposite the former baseball grounds of the Ameri- 
can League, which is the proposed site of the Billy Sunday 
Tabernacle, and on the opposite side of the street a short 
distance beyond is the Tufts College Medical and Dental 
School. 

We now begin to skirt the Fenway on our right, one of the most 
beautiful parts of the Boston City Parks System, passing near the 
Forsyth Dental Infirmary, and soon come to the Museum 
of Fine Arts, which was located formerly on Copley Square. 
The Museum was incorporated in 1870, and its collections were 
first opened to the public in 1876. In importance, it ranks with the 
chief art museums of the world. It is managed by a board of thirty 
trustees, of whom three are appointed by Harvard University, 
three by the Boston Athenaeum, and three by the Massachusetts 
Institute of Technology. There are five ex-officio members, one 
of whom is the mayor, and two others of whom also represent the 
City of Boston. It maintains a school of art which gives instruction 
in drawing, painting, design, and modelling, and includes the 




109 



ACROSS THE BACK BAY 111 

William Morris Hunt Memorial Library, a collection of about 
10,000 books and pamphlets, and 17,000 photographs. This col- 
lection is freely open to visitors. 

The Museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in winter, and 
9 A.M. to 5 P.M. in summer, except on Sundays, when the hours are 
from 1 to 6 p.m. Admission is free on Saturdays, Sundays, and 
holidays. On other days an admission fee of twenty-five cents is 
charged. The Museum is closed on Christmas Day, Thanksgiving 
Day, and the Fourth of July. 

The main collections of the Museum are on the second floor, but 
the ground floor contains many important exhibition rooms. The 
building is laid out on the general principle of a series of courts 
surrounded by smaller rooms. The rotunda in the centre is flanked 
by two large courts of casts, and at the front of each side of the main 
structure, wings project, each having a similar court, which is smaller, 
however, while around these courts are small exhibition rooms. 
The two main courts extend from top to bottom of the building, 
and have no galleries. Beyond the rotunda the buildings extend 
in a T-shape, and it is in these more recently built galleries that the 
main collections of paintings and prints are to be found. 

Upon entering the Museum from Huntington Avenue, we find 
ourselves before the main staircase, and after pausing to admire 
the architectural treatment of the rotunda, we may turn to the 
right, and enter the main court of classical casts, while in the right 
wing is the smaller classical court, with exhibition rooms of Greek 
vases and terra cottas. 

On the left-hand side of the staircase is the court of Renaissance 
casts, and the Morse collection of Japanese pottery. The latter 
is one of the most valuable possessions of the Museum. 

In the left wing is the Japanese court with its miniature Japanese 
garden, bordered by exhibition rooms of Ukiyoe prints and early 
paintings and Japanese nineteenth century prints. Returning 
to the main entrance and taking either passage to left or right of 
the main stairway, past the crypt and the lecture hall, we come to 
the Evans wing, with the gallery of water colors on the left and the 
exhibition galleries of the print department on the right. The 
print collection of the Museum, which affords rare opportunities 
for study, includes at present about eighty thousand examples, all 
of which are accessible to the public on application to the curator 



112 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

of prints, though, of course, but a small number of them may be 
exhibited at one time. 

Returning to the main entrance and ascending the staircase, the 
architectural beauty of the building cannot but impress the visitor. 
Passing through the noble gallery of tapestries we come to the 
Robert Dawson Evans galleries for paintings, with twelve exhibition 
rooms. As the collections are continually rearranged, and as each 
picture is plainly labelled on its frame, no detailed catalogue by 
galleries is possible, but a few of the Museum's chief treasures may 
be mentioned. Among the old masters the Museum possesses 
Rembrandt's Portraits oj Nicolas Tulp and his Wije, his Danae, and 
his Portrait of his Father; a Portrait of a Wotnati attributed to Franz 
Hals; Van Dyck's Portrait of Maria Anna de Schodt; a Family of 
Charles I, belonging to the school of Van Dj'ck; Metsu's The Usurer; 
Teniers's Butcher's Shop; Rubens's Master and his Wife, and a Study 
for an Altarpiece; Velasquez's Portrait of Philip IV, and Don Baltazar 
and his Dwarf; El Greco's Portrait of Fray F. H. Palavicino; Van der 
Wey den's St. Luke Drawing the Portrait of the Madonna; and Paul 
Veronese's Justice. 

The French rooms include examples of Gerome, Degas, Corot, 
Dupre, Diaz, and others. Millet and the impressionists are well 
represented by many choice canvases. Corot may be studied here 
in various phases. The most important Millet picture in the 
Museum is his Harvesters Resting. Delacroix is represented by 
the Lion Hunt and the Entombment, while these rooms contain 
good examples of Meissonier and Fromentin. Among the most 
familiar of the paintings in these galleries are Regnault's Horse of 
Achilles and L'Hermitte's UAmi des Humbles. 

The American galleries contain an unrivalled collection of Copleys 
and Stuarts, pre-eminent among which are of course Stuart's famous 
Portraits of George and Martha Washington. The most beautiful 
of the Copleys is his own Family Group. Washington Allston's 
Uriel is the best example of the painter's work in this country. 
One may also call special attention to Sully's Torn Hat; Leslie's 
Portrait of Sir Walter Scott; many examples of William Morris Hunt ; 
Vedder's Sphinx; La Farge's Halt of the Wise Men; Winslow Homer's 
The Fog Warning; several important pictures by Whistler; Brush's 
Mother and Child; Thayer's Caritas; Alexander's Pot of Basil; and 
fine examples of Tarbell, Paxton, Benson, and Mrs. Whitman. 




113 



ACROSS THE BACK BAY 115 

Among the important English paintings are a few examples of 
Sir Joshua Reynolds and Sir Thomas Lawrence; Turner's Slave Ship, 
which Ruskin, to whom it belonged, considered the finest painting 
Turner ever executed; and Burne-Jones's Chant cV Amour. 

Returning through the hall of tapestries to the rotunda and turning 
to the right through the galleries opening immediately out of the 
rotunda, we come to the wonderful Oriental collections of the 
Museum, which form perhaps the foremost collection of Eastern 
art in the world. Here may be seen examples of Japanese ivory 
and wood carving, metal work (including a choice collection of 
sword guards), lacquer work, and costumes, while the wood carvings 
are of great beauty and distinction. The Buddhist room is the 
reproduction in miniature of a small temple, carefully planned to 
give the intimate atmosphere in which the works of art there ex- 
hibited may be seen to the best advantage. In fact, the disposal 
of the whole Japanese collection is subtly designed to convey as 
directly as possible the message of Japanese art to the Western 
world. Among the Chinese sculptures the visitor should particularly 
note the torso of Kwannon. Little more can be said here of the 
Oriental collections of the Museum. They are a subject for many 
volumes, and will repay close study more than any other depart- 
ment of the Museum. 

Parallel to the Japanese collections and surrounding the gallery 
of the Renaissance court are the exhibition rooms of the department 
of Western art, with collections of textiles, glass, pottery, and 
porcelain, all subtly arranged so as to bring out the best effect by 
grouping and contrast. 

One of the strongest departments of the Museum is the Egyptian 
department, the nucleus of which was the Way collection gathered 
about eighty years ago. The exhibition rooms occupy the whole 
wing above the court of classical casts, and the collection contains 
forty-seven canopic jars, seven mummies of the New Empire in fine 
condition, many objects of bronze, stone, glass, iron, and pottery, 
obtained through the Egyptian Exploration Fund, the incomplete 
statue of King Mykerinos carved out of alabaster, two mastabas 
or tomb-chambers of solid limestone blocks, an important collection 
of Egyptian sculi)ture, specimens of Egyptian architecture, amulets, 
a fine collection of scarabs, pottery, metal work, and, in fact, illus- 
trations of almost every surviving aspect of Egyptian handicraft. 



116 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

The collections of the classical department include one of the 
most important collections of Greek vases in the world, a distin- 
guished collection of terra cottas, a strong representation of Greek 
bronze statuettes, and a small but important collection of ancient 
goldsmiths' work. In the small collection of marbles the two most 
noteworthy specimens are the Young Hermes and the head of Aphro- 
dite, while the terra cotta head of a Roman is alone of its kind, being 
reproduced from a life mask. One of the most interesting collec- 
tions is that of Tanagra statuettes. It would be vain to itemize the 
treasures in sculpture of this department. They are too numerous, 
and such a list would tend to become a catalogue of the collection. 

Of the other collections of the Museum also it seems best to say 
nothing here. The Museum collections open up so many paths 
of suggestion for exploration and study that little more can be done 
here than point out a few paths to the visitor. The Museum pub- 
lishes a handbook to the collections, and many special catalogues 
of individual departments. 

Upon leaving the Museum we continue up Huntington Avenue, 
passing on the left the Wentworth Institute, founded by 
Arioch Wentworth for industrial study, and soon pass upon our 
right the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum, better known 
as Fenway Court, and containing a priceless private art collection 
open to the public upon payment of a large fee upon a very few days 
each year. Near this Venetian palace is Simmons College, 
a college for women, and somewhat north of it in the Fenway is the 
Church of the Disciples, the home of a Unitarian congrega- 
tion. The present church succeeds a meeting house in the South 
End, which was for many years the pulpit of James Freeman Clarke. 
Still continuing down Huntington Avenue, we pass the Normal and 
Girls' Latin School Group, erected in 1907, and a moment 
or two's walk brings us to the Harvard Medical School, occupy- 
ing a fine group of buildings arranged around a square court, 
and forming one of the most distinctive architectural features of 
the city. At No. 300 Longwood Avenue is the new building of 
the Children's Hospital, and on Huntington Avenue, just be- 
yond the Harvard Medical School, is the Peter Bent Brigham 
Hospital. After visiting the Medical School, we may take a 
car on Huntington Avenue which will bring us back to the centre 
of the city. 




ii: 




THE OLD STATE HOUSE, FROM STATE STREET 



118 




B03TON MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS 



VI 

OTHER BOSTON POINTS OF INTEREST 

The South End. The Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Holy 

Cross is on Washington Street at the corner of Maiden Street, 
and is the largest Catholic Church in New England. Before the 
cathedral is a bronze statue of Columbus, by Alois Buyens, erected 
in 1892. The arch of the front vestibule of the cathedral is built 
from bricks taken from the ruins of the Ursuline Convent in Somer- 
ville, destroyed by a mob on the night of August 11, 1834. 

Not far away, on Harrison Avenue and James Street, just off East 
Newton Street, is the former home of Boston College, a Jesuit 
institution. The building is now occupied by Boston College 
High School. The present home of Boston College is in Newton, 
overlooking the Reservoir. 

Also on Harrison Avenue, beyond Boston College High School, is 
the Boston City Hospital, with twenty-six buildings, and the 
Massachusetts Homoeopathic Hospital. 

No. 28 Rutland Square was the home of Mrs. Louise Chandler 
Moulton for many years until her death. 

The gallows on which the Quakers were hanged in 1660 stood 
on a site about four hundred feet south of Dover Street on the east 
side of Washington Street. 



RoxBURY. At the corner of Washington and Eustis Streets 
is the old burying ground, wherein are buried John Eliot, apostle 
to the Indians, and several of the Dudleys, notably Governors 
Thomas and Joseph Dudley. 

119 



120 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

On Warren Street, near the Dudley Street Station of the Elevated 
Railway, is the site of the birthplace of General Joseph Warren, 
and near by is a statue of General Warren, by Paul W. Bartlett, 
erected in 1904. On Kearsarge Avenue was the home of Rear 
Admiral Winslow of "Kearsarge" fame, while close to it is the 
Roxbury Latin School, established in 1645, ten years after the 
Boston Latin School. Warren taught here at the age of nineteen. 
At 2 Dunreath Place, near Warren Street, Louisa M. Alcott died. 

In Eliot Square is the church on the site of the first meeting 
house in Roxbury, where John Eliot preached for over forty years. 
Highland Street climbs the hill from the square, and No. 39 was the 
last home of Edward Everett Hale. No. 125 Highland Street 
was the home in later life of William Lloyd Garrison. A 
short walk brings us to Roxbury Upper Fort, marked by a high 
water pipe on the summit of Highland Park. Here General Knox 
built a fort, the lines of which are still indicated, during the Siege 
of Boston. The Lower Fort, also built by General Knox, was some- 
what down the hill on Highland Street. 

South Boston. The chief points of interest in South Boston 
may be briefly indicated. First among them is Dorchester 
Heights, with its monument "perpetuating the erection of American 
fortifications that forced the British to evacuate Boston, March 
17, 1776." A tablet on West Third Street, by the Lawrence School, 
tells us that it marks the site of Nook Hill. "During the siege of 
Boston by the American forces under General W^ashington an 
attempt was made, on the evening of March 9, to plant a battery 
near this spot. The Americans were driven away by the fire from 
the British guns, and five were killed. The work was resumed March 
16, completing the line of the American fortifications and causing 
the British troops to evacuate the town of Boston, March 17, 1776." 
On Broadway, between G and H Streets, stood until recently the 
first home of the Perkins Institution for the Blind, founded in 
1829 by Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe, and internationally famous. Its 
beautiful new location is in Watertown, on the banks of the Charles 
River. At the extreme end of the South Boston peninsula is Marine 
Park, with the interesting Head House, a statue of Admiral Farragut, 
by H. H. Kitson, erected in 1893, a fine pier, an aquarium of excep- 
tional interest, and a long bridge leading over to Castle Island, 




121 



OTHER BOSTON POINTS OF INTEREST 123 

with Fort Independence. At the foot of L Street, on Dorchester 
Bay, are the L Street Bath Houses, open free to the public through- 
out the year, and here during the winter many enthusiasts brave 
the icy waters of the bay. 

West Roxbury. On Center Street, close to Bellevue Station 
and near the electric cars, is the church of Theodore Parker, 
where he preached for nine years. It is now abandoned and in a 
state of disrepair. On the corner of Cottage Avenue still stands 
the residence of Theodore Parker. Following Baker Street from 
Spring Street railroad station or from the trolley tracks, about 
twenty minutes' walk will bring us to Brook Farm, organized in 
1841, and founded by George Ripley as the outcome of the Boston 
Transcendental Club. The community lasted for six years with 
declining fortunes. Among its prominent members were Nathaniel 
Hawthorne, who has described it in "The Blithedale Romance," 
Charles A. Dana, and John S. Dwight. Frequent visitors were 
Theodore Parker, Ralph \yaldo Emerson, ]\Iargaret Fuller ("Zeno- 
bia"), A. Bronson Alcott, Orestes A. Brownson, Father Isaac Hecker, 
Christopher P. Cranch, Elizabeth P. Peabody, W. H. Channing, 
and George William Curtis. The produce of the farm, which con- 
tained 170 acres, was held in common; all pupils were supposed to 
perform a specified amount of manual labor; and the members of 
the communit}^ who at times numbered as many as eighty, divided 
the outdoor and indoor labor fairly among themselves. Financially 
the venture was unfortunate, and after 1845, when Fourierism was 
introduced, it steadily declined. Since the failure of the commu- 
nity, it has served as a poor farm, and later as Camp Andrew during 
the Civil War, and at present is the seat of the Martin Luther 
Orphan Home. 

The Orphan Home now occupies the site and stands on the founda- 
tions of the old " Hive " which served as the Common House. Some- 
what inside the estate is the onh' original building which remains, 
and it is known as the Margaret Fuller Cottage. At the summit 
may be seen the remains of the cellar of the "Eyry," where the 
boarding school was kept. Nearer the entrance, on a sand bank, is 
the site of the "Phalanstery," intended as the common building. 
It was the largest of the buildings, and its destruction by fire just 
as it was ready for occupancy put the seal of failure on the com- 



124 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

munity. In the heart of the woods, but easily reached, is the pulpit 
rock whence John Eliot preached to the Indians, and where the 
members of the Brook Farm community gathered for religious 
services on Sundays in the summer. 

Returning to Spring Street Station, a train or trolley car will 
bring us to Forest Hills. In Forest Hills Cemetery lie buried 
General Joseph Warren, William Lloyd Garrison, Rear Admiral 
Winslow, Martin Milmore, and others. Over Milmore's grave is a 
fine monument by Daniel C. French rej: resenting the Angel of Death 
staying the hand of the sculptor. 




LOOKING ACROSS HARBOR TO EAST BOSTON 



125 




126 



WEST BOSTON BRIDGE 



VII 



A WALK ABOUT CAMBRIDGE AND 
HARVARD UNIVERSITY 

We take a train for Cambridge in the Park Street Under Station 
of the Cambridge Tunnel, and aUght at Central Square. On Maga- 
zine Street, which leads ofT to the left, Washington Allston lived 
(1) for a time in a house on the corner of Auburn Street. Off Main 
Street, toward Boston, is Cherry Street, upon which Margaret 
Fuller was born. But let us turn our steps in the opposite 
direction along Massachusetts Avenue. A minute's walk brings 
us to the Cambridge City Hall. The Cambridge City Hall (3), 
which is one of F. H. Rindge's gifts to the city, stands in a little 
park facing Massachusetts Avenue, and is constructed of red granite 
with brownstone trimmings. Nearly opposite, on Massachusetts 
Avenue, are the buildings of Prospect Union (4) and the Young 
Men's Christian Association (5). Walking down Inman Street 
on the right of the City Hall, we soon come to the site of General 
Israel Putnam's headquarters during the Siege of Boston, 
marked by a tablet. The way now lies down Broadway to the left, 
passing the Cambridge Public Library (7), built in French Ro- 
manesque style in 1888-89, and one of the Rindge gifts to the city. 
It contains about 40,000 volumes, and is open to the public. 
The interior is architecturally interesting. The library collection 
itself is an outgrowth of the old Cambridge Athenajum, established 
in 1849, and transferred to the city in 1858, after which it was for 
a time known as the Dana Library. Across Trowbridge Street are 
the Latin School (8) and the English High School (9), while across 

127 



128 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

Irving Street is the Manual Training School (10) for boys, built 
and endowed by Mr. Rindge. Turning off Broadway at Trowbridge 
Street, we follow that street back to Massachusetts Avenue and 
Putnam Square, whence a short walk down Mount Auburn Street 
to the right brings us to Bow Street, with interesting historic asso- 
ciations. Here is the old Phips mansion (11), occupied before 
the Revolution by Colonel David Phips, and it is on this street that 
Whalley and Goffe, the regicides, were in hiding in 1660, before they 
fled to New Haven. 

On the little "island" in the centre of the square stands the 
office building of the Harvard Lampoon (12), whose main 
chamber is an amusing reduction to Lillii^utian scale of a vast 
Gothic hall. 

On Plympton Street, not far from Massachusetts Avenue, is "The 
Bishop's Palace " (13), so called from the Episcopal ambitions 
of the Reverend East Apthorp, the rector of Christ Church, who 
built it in 1760. It served as the residence of General Burgoyne 
and his staff officers for some time after their release on parole fol- 
lowing his surrender at Saratoga in 1777. The spot is marked by a 
tablet. 

Plympton Street leads off Mount Auburn Street to the left toward 
the parkway along the river, and following this parkway to the 
right we shall pass two of the Harvard freshman dormitories, Gore 
Hall (14), perpetuating the name of the old college library, and 
Standish Hall (15). To the left of the parkway is the Weld Boat 
Club (16), and just beyond is the Nicholas Longworth Anderson 
Memorial Bridge (17), connecting Camljridge with Boston, and 
leading over past the University Boat Club (18) and other athletic 
buildings to the Harvard Stadium, a large bowl whose benches 
seat an audience of 30,000, and with the additional temporary stands 
about 47,000, people. Here the great football games are held, and 
large out-of-door pageants and many plays are given. 

Returning toward Harvard Square by way of Boylston Street, 
past the Smith Halls (20) (freshman dormitories named in memory 
of Persis, George, and James Smith, and happily suggestive of 
Hampton Court in their cloistered architecture). South Street, on the 
right, brings us to Dunster Street, with several interesting historical 
associations. On the right as we turn up Dunster Street is the 
house of John Hicks (21), built in 1762 and marked by a tablet. 




129 



CAMBRIDGE AND HARVARD UNIVERSITY 131 

Hicks was killed by British soldiers on April 19, 1775, and the house 
was used by General Putnam for an army office. On the lower 
corner of Mount Auburn Street on the left is the site of the first 
meeting house (22) in Cambridge, erected in 1632. The spot is 
marked l^y a tablet. At the corner of Dunster and South Streets 
stood the house of Thomas Dudley (23) , the founder of Cambridge. 
Here he lived in 1630. Ascending Dunster Street, we soon come 
to Harvard Square, and on the further corner of Dunster Street and 
Massachusetts Avenue a tablet marks the site of Stephen Daye's 
house (24). Here Daye printed John Eliot's Indian Bible and the 
Bay Psalm Book, and it will be recalled that he set up here the first 
printing press in America (1638-48). On our walk along Mount 
Auburn Street and our explorations of various side streets, we have 
noticed several sumptuous dormitories. They are occupied by 
wealthy Harvard students, are owned by private interests, and have 
given to the district its popular name of ''The Gold Coast." 

On Massachusetts Avenue is also Holyoke Hall (25) , a long, low 
brick building with stores on the ground floor, used as one of the 
University dormitories. Commanding the square stands the 
simple brick building of the Harvard Co-operative Society (26), 
unique in so far as it is a department store of large and ready re- 
sources managed and operated entirely by students in the university 
on a co-operative basis. The yellow mansion on the opposite side 
of the square in the Harvard Yard is the Wadsworth House (27), 
dating from 1727, and built for President Benjamin Wadsworth 
by the Colonial Government and the college. It served as the resi- 
dence of successive presidents for over a hundred years, and was the 
first headquarters of General Washington. Many distinguished 
men have stopped here, and it was the resting place of the Royal 
Governors on Commencement days in Colonial times. On the wall 
of Boj'lston Hall, facing Massachusetts Avenue, is a tablet marking 
the ministers' homestead (28), where Thomas Hooker, Thomas 
Shepherd, and Jonathan Mitchell lived from 1663 to 1668, and in 
later days President Leverett. Boylston Hall (29), erected in 
1857, is occupied by the chemical department of the University. 

For the moment, however, our route lies along Massachusetts 
Avenue to the left, skirting the Harvard Yard until we come to the 
main entrance between Harvard and Massachusetts Halls. On 
our way we pass Dane Hall (30), formerly the law school, l^ut now 



132 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

occupied by lecture rooms and the office of the L^^niversity Bursar. 
The Main or West Gate (31), sometimes known as the Johnston 
Gate, was erected in 1890 from the designs of Charles F. McKim. 
On the north wall is the inscription: "By the General Court of 
Massachusetts Bay 28 October 1636, Agreed to give 400£ towards 
a schole or colledge whearof 200 £ to be paid next yeare & 200 £ 
when the worke is finished & the next Court to appoint wheare & 
w^ bvilding 15 November 1637. The Colledge is ordered to bee at 
Newe Towne 2 May 1638 It is ordered that Newe Towne Shall 
henceforward be called Cambridge 15 March 1638-9 It is ordered 
that the colledge Agreed vpon formerly to bee built at Cambridge 
shallbee called Harvard Colledge." On the south wall is the fol- 
lowing extract from "New England's First Fruits," the first account 
of the founding of the College: "After God had carried us safe to 
New England and wee had builded our houses provided necessaries 
for our livelihood reared convenient places for God's worship and 
settled the civill government one of the next things we longed for 
and looked after was to advance learning and perpetuate it to 
posterity dreading to leave an illiterate ministry to the churches 
when our present ministers shall lie in the dust." Before entering 
the College Yard, we may as w^ell take a glance at the early history 
of the University. Founded as a college in 1636, it was the only 
college in the country until the College of William and Mary was 
chartered in Virginia in 1693. The first college building w^as set 
up in 1638-42 very nearly on the site of the present Grays Hall, 
and was a two-story wooden house which lasted until 1677. The 
second building, known as the Indian College, was built very nearly 
on the site of the present Matthews Hall. It was designed for the 
education of Indian youth, and was built in 1654. It stood for 
forty-four years. The first Harvard Hall was built in 1672, and 
stood on the site of the present Harvard Hall. It was a two-story 
brick structure, and was the only college building, save the little 
Indian College, until the first Stoughton Hall was built in 1700. 

In 1719-20, Massachusetts Hall (32), still standing and the 
oldest building now to be seen, was built by the Province, pursuant 
to a resolve of the General Court. It cost £3500, and its exterior 
is little changed, though the interior has been reconstructed. For 
a century and a half, it served as a dormitory, and here lived, among 
others, in their college days, such worthies as William Ellery and 



CAMBRIDGE AND HARVARD UNIVERSITY 133 

Robert Treat Paine, signers of the Declaration of Independence; 
the Rev. Mather Byles, Boston's greatest wit during the eighteenth 
century; President Jared Sparks, the historian; such other more 
distinguished historians as Palfrey, Bancroft, and Parkman; Colonel 
Robert Gould Shaw, commemorated in the Shaw Memorial on Bos- 
ton Common (See Walk No. I); Horatio Greenough, the sculptor; 
and Bishop Philhps Brooks. The building is now used solely for 
lecture and examination rooms, and for offices. Against the outer 
wall of the hall is a fine bust of James Russell Lowell. The hall 
was occupied by troops during the Revolution. 

Opposite Massachusetts Hall is the second Harvard Hall (33). 
The first Harvard Hall, built in 1672, was burned in the fire of 1764 
while occupied by the General Court, and the present building was 
immediately erected to replace it by order of the Court. Here 
Washington was formally received in 1789 upon his last visit to 
New England. It was used as a barracks during the Revolution, 
and now contains lecture rooms and special libraries, conspicuous 
among which are those of the history and classical departments. A 
bell in the cupola rings to summon the students of the University 
to prayers (voluntary only) and all recitations and lectures. 

We now find ourselves on the College Campus. To the left of 
Harvard Hall is Hollis Hall (34), built in 1762-63 by the Province, 
and commemorating Thomas Hollis, an English benefactor of the 
college. Here, in their college days, have roomed such notable men 
as Wendell Phillips, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Wilham Hickling 
Prescott, and Henry D. Thoreau. It is still used as a dormitory. 
During the Revolution, when the college was temporarily removed 
to Concord, Hollis Hall, like Massachusetts and Harvard Halls, 
served as a barracks for American soldiers. 

Between Hollis Hall and the adjoining dormitory on the right is 
the old Holden Chapel (35), occupied until 1915 by the musical 
department of the University, but originally the college chapel. 
It was given to the college in 1744 by Madame Holden of London, 
the widow of a governor of the Bank of England, and was used 
for prayers until 1766, since when it has served for various scholastic 
purposes. 

Just beyond Holden Chapel is Stoughton Hall (36), the second 
dormitory of that name, and dating from 1804-05. The first Stough- 
ton Hall, a gift to the college in 1700 from Chief Justice Stoughton, 



134 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

was in the course of time condemned as unsafe, and the present 
building has succeeded it, being built largely from the proceeds of 
a lottery authorized by the General Court. Here, as students, 
roomed, among others, Edward Everett, Charles Sumner, Horatio 
Greenough, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Edward Everett Hale. 

Just beyond Stoughton Hall, in the corner of the yard, is Phillips 
Brooks House (37), a centre of University religious activities. 
Here the various religious societies of the college have their head- 
quarters, with the exception of the Catholic Club, which now has 
its own building, Newman House, on Mount Auburn Street. On 
the campus, at right angles to Stoughton Hall, is Holworthy Hall 
(38), built in 1812, partly from a bequest left by Sir Matthew Hol- 
worthy, and partly from the proceeds of a lottery. It has more 
sentimental associations than many other dormitories, and here 
may be seen the rooms occupied, as students, by George Bancroft 
and Philli])s Brooks. Opposite Stoughton and Holhs Halls is 
Thayer Hall (39), built in 1870, and used as a dormitory. Beside 
it is University Hall (40), a handsome building of white granite, 
built in 1815 from the designs of Charles Bulfinch, the architect 
of the Boston State House. It was the first stone building to be 
built in the yard, and is the central administrative building at 
present of the University. Here distinguished visitors are formally 
received on the steps of the south entrance by the college authori- 
ties, and among those so received may be mentioned Lafayette, 
Monroe, Jackson, and Van Buren. Beyond University Hall is 
Weld Hall (41), built as a dormitory in 1872. At right angles to 
it, facing the campus, is Grays Hall (42), dating from 1863, and 
standing on the site of the first college building. It is also utilized 
as a dormitory. The dormitory completing the square of the 
campus is Matthews Hall (43), on the site of the old Indian College. 
It dates from 1872. 

The imposing edifice beyond Matthews and Boylston Halls, with 
its main entrance facing the chapel, is the new Widener Library 
(44), which ranks fourth in number of books among the great col- 
lections in America, though probably first in the value of its contents. 
It contains, with its special collections, not far from 800,000 volumes. 
The first building was given by Governor Christopher Gore, while 
the present building is on the site of the old Gore Hall, the former 
home of the University library. The present building was completed 




1 



135 



CAMBRIDGE AND HARVARD UNIVERSITY 137 

in 1915, and is a memorial to Harry Elkins Widener, a young Phila- 
delphia book collector, who was drowned in the *' Titanic " disaster. 
The library is not open for use by the general public, but accredited 
scholars are welcomed with every courtesy, and the visitor nay 
procure admission to the treasure room by special permission. 
Here the most valuable books and manuscripts belonging to the 
library are kept. Notable among these are Carlyle's Cromwell 
and Frederick the Great collections, Parkman's library, George 
Ticknor's Dante collection, the priceless Widener collection, the 
complete manuscript of Thackeray's "Roundabout Papers," and 
a volume of manuscript poems by Shelley. 

Let us now take the path which leads across the yard over the 
hill to Quincy Street, noting, as we pass, the cottage on the extreme 
right-hand corner, formerly occupied by the first Harvard 
Observatory (45), established here in 1839, and later the residence 
of President Felton. Passing the noble Thomas Dudley Gate 
(46), erected in 1915, the second house on the left-hand side of 
Quincy Street is the president's residence (47). The finely pro- 
portioned brick building on Quincy Street opposite us is the Harvard 
Union (48), erected in 1901 from the designs of McKim, Mead 
& White, and the gift for the most part of Henry L. Higginson 
and the late Henry Warren. It is the chief club of the University, 
and most of the students belong to it. Here are to be found a large 
and imposing common room, dining-rooms, a well selected library, 
a bilhard room, and the offices of certain college magazines. We 
shall proceed up Quincy Street for a short distance. The fine 
mansion just below the Harvard Union is now occupied by the 
Colonial Club (49), a socially eclectic representative of Harvard 
life. Here lived formerly the father of Henry and William James, 
himself a philosopher and theologian of note. On the southeast 
corner of Quincy Street and Broadway is the Agassiz house (50), 
where Louis Agassiz lived during the latter part of his life in Cam- 
bridge, and kept, from 1855 to 1863, a school for young women. 
The house was built for him by the college. The first brick building 
we come to on the left as we pass down Quincy Street is Emerson 
Hall (51), erected in honor of Ralph Waldo Emerson, a fine bronze 
statue of whom stands in the corridor. It is the headquarters of 
the philosophical department of the University, and here the late 
William James delivered manv a lecture. Public lectures are 



138 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

frequently givfen in this building, and it contains special libraries 
of interest, as well as a social ethics museum. Next to it is Sever 
Hall (52), architecturally one of the finest works of H. H. Richard- 
son, the architect of Trinity Church, Boston. It is the chief lecture 
and recitation building of the college, and was erected in 1880. 
Below it is Robinson Hall (53), the seat of the architectural depart- 
ment, with an interesting collection of casts and engravings. Fol- 
lowing the yard fence along Broadway to the left, past Robinson 
Hall, we see within the grounds, not far from the street, Appleton 
Chapel (54), where religious exercises are regularly held for the 
students and conducted by University preachers specially aiipointed 
for that purpose. Facing Broadway is the William Hayes Fogg 
Museum of Art (55), erected in 1895. The semi-circular audi- 
torium in the rear is a lecture hall, where classes are held, and where 
many public lectures are given during the season. The entrance to 
the museum is on Broadway, and an entertaining hour may be spent 
in the enjoyment of its collections. There is a large collection of 
statues, casts, and coins; the invaluable Gray collection of engrav- 
ings; and a small but select collection of paintings and drawings, 
among which special attention should be called to some valuable 
Turners. Admission is free, and the museum is open on week days 
from 9 A.M. to 5 p.m., and on Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. 

The imposing brick structure opposite us, with its high clock 
tower, is Memorial Hall (56)', containing the chief dining hall of 
the University and Sanders Theatre, as well as the hall commemorat- 
ing those Harvard graduates who died during the Civil War. The 
dining hall, with its high panelled oak roofing and beautiful stained 
glass windows, seats over a thousand students, and is an imposing 
interior. Its walls are adorned with a valuable collection of paint- 
ings and busts of artistic and historic interest. Among the paintings 
are valuable portraits by Copley, Stuart, and others. The hall is 
open to the public at such hours as it is not occupied by the Harvard 
Dining Association. The bust of Longfellow is a replica of that 
in Westminster Abbey. In Sanders Theatre, which is a theatre 
only in the academic sense of the word, is a marble statue of Josiah 
Quincy, by Story. Memorial Hall was erected in 1873-76, and 
occupies the centre of The Delta, formerly the college playground. 
To the left of IMemorial Hall in The Delta is a fine statue of John 
Harvard (57), by Daniel C. French. John Harvard was the Charles- 



CAMBRIDGE AND HARVARD UNIVERSITY 139 

town minister who bequeathed to the college his library and a sum 
of £800, and it was after him that the infant college was named. 

On Quincy Street, opposite Memorial Hall, is the house formerly 
the residence of Jared Sparks (58), a prominent historian in his 
day, and at one time president of the University. It is now occu- 
pied by the New Church Theological School. Just south of it, in 
what is knowm as the Little Delta, is the present home of the Ger- 
manic Museum (59) of the University, soon to be exchanged for 
a fine new building on Divinity Avenue. It has a choice collection, 
largely augmented by gifts from the German Emperor, and is open 
free to the public on Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays, from nine 
to five, and on Thursdays and Sundays, from one to five. In the 
centre of the Little Delta is a reproduction of the Bronze Lion 
(60) erected in the twelfth century in Castle Square in Brunswick 
by Duke Henry the Lion. The lion was given to the University 
b}^ the Duchy of Brunswick. 

Our road lies down Quincy Street past Memorial Hall to Kirk- 
land Street and Divinity Avenue. Beyond the Agassiz house is 
the chapel of the New Church Theological School (61), and 
across Kirkland Street, on the east corner of Divinity Avenue, is 
Randall Hall (62), a dining hall for students, seating about five 
hundred. A little distance down Kirkland Street is the home of 
the late Professor Francis James Child. The architecturally 
distinctive building on the left-hand corner of Divinity Avenue, 
when completed, is to be the new home of the Germanic Museum 
(63). 

We turn down Divinity Avenue, passing the T. Jefferson Cool- 
idge Memorial Building (64) and the Wolcott Gibbs Memorial 
Laboratory (65), and soon come to the Semitic Museum (66) 
on the right, the headquarters of the Semitic departments of the 
University. Its collections are open free to the public daily, except 
Sundays, from nine to five, and on Sundays from two to five. It 
contains valuable relics from Babylonia, Assyria, the land of the 
Hittites, Egypt, Arabia, Palestine. Phoenicia, Syria, and Persia. 
The building just beyond is Divinity Hall (67). The Harvard 
Divinity School is unsectarian. Here, among others, lived Ralph 
Waldo Emerson, and his room was in the extreme northeastern corner 
of the ground floor. The chapel on the second floor contains interest- 
ing tablets and memorials. Beyond it, on the same side of the avenue. 



140 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

is the Divinity School Library (68). Back of the Divinity School 
builchngs were the grounds of "Shady Hill," once the private estate 
of Charles Eliot Norton, best remembered as a Dante scholar, and 
as the friend of Carlyle and Rusk in. In the foreground of the 
estate rises the imposing facade of the Andover TheologicaJ 
Seminary, now affiliated with Harvard University. Turning 
back along Divinity Avenue, we shall pause to explore the other 
University museums on the western side of the avenue. These 
consist of the Museum of Comparative Zoology (70); the 
Botanical Museum (71), with the luiique Ware collection of 
Blaschka glass models of ])lants and flowers; the Mineralogical 
Museum (72); and the Peabody Museum (73) of American and 
foreign archaeology and ethnology. All of these museums are of 
absorbing interest, and are open to the public. The first two are 
open daily, except Sunday, from nine to five, and on Sundays from 
one to five; the third is open only on Saturdays, from nine to five, 
and on Thursdays and Saturdays, from one to five; while the last 
named is open daily, except Sundays, from nine to five. 

We may return up Divinity Avenue, and turn to the left, taking 
a diagonal path across a woodland plot, and thus reaching Oxford 
Street. At No. 30 Oxford Street lived John G. Palfrey (74), the 
distinguished historian and clergyman, for many years. On the 
eastern side of Oxford Street is Conant Hall (74A), the dormitory 
occupied by graduate students of the University, and nearly oppo- 
site it is Perkins Hall (75), an undergraduate dormitory controlled 
by the University. Back of Perkins Hall is Jarvis Field (76), 
equipped with tennis courts for students, as is its neighbor, Holmes 
Field (77), to the south. We shall now cross Holmes Field diagon- 
ally. On our right, the long brick building facing on Oxford Street 
is Pierce Hall (78), the headquarters of the engineering department 
of the University. Facing on Jarvis Street is the Rotch Astro- 
nomical Building (79), where instruction in astrononi}^ is given, 
and near by is the telescope used by the students. The imposing 
stone building on our right is Langdell Hall (80), which houses the 
fine library of the Harvard Law School, with about forty-four 
thousand volumes. Back of it, and facing on Massachusetts 
Avenue, is Walter Hastings Hall (81), the dormitory of the Law 
School, built in 1890. The old-fashioned brick building between 
Pierce and Langdell Halls is the Jefferson Physical Laboratory 




141 



CAMBRIDGE AND HARVARD UNIVERSITY 143 

(82) of the University. Let us now bear a little to the right, and we 
shall emerge on the corner of Kirkland and Cambridge Streets, in 
front of the old Lawrence Scientific School (83) of Harvard 
University, now merged in the faculty of arts and sciences, and the 
Hemenway Gymnasium (84), presented to the University by 
Augustus Hemenway in 1878. Behind the gymnasium is the new 
Musical Building (85) of the University. Directing our steps 
in the direction of Massachusetts Avenue, a moment's walk brings 
us to the entrance of Austin Hall (86), the chief building of the 
Harvard Law School, erected in 1883 from the designs of H. H. 
Richardson, the architect of Trinity Church in Boston (See Walk 
IV). The interior, with its portraits and other mementoes, is of 
interest to the visitor. Near by is the site of the house in which 
Oliver Wendell Holmes was born (87). It was removed about 
twenty years ago. Here, in Revolutionary times, was the head- 
quarters of General Artemas Ward, where the Committee of Public 
Safety met, from which General Warren hastened to the Bunker 
Hill battlefield, and w^here the first plans which resulted in the battle 
were formed. In the small triangle near by is a statue of Charles 
Sumner, by Anne Whitney (88). 

We turn our steps now in the direction of the Cambridge Com- 
mon, formerly a place of execution. Here Whitefield once preached 
in the open air. A tablet by the sidewalk on Massachusetts Avenue 
marks the site of the oak (89) under which, in early Colonial days, 
the Governors and Magistrates of the Colony were elected. On the 
Common is a statue of the Puritan, John Bridge (90), by Thomas 
R. Gould and Marshall S. Gould. The Soldiers' Monument 
(91) is surrounded by cannon captured by Ethan Allen at Crown 
Point in 1775, and employed during the Siege of Boston on the 
American redoubts. A moment's walk across the Common will 
bring us to the historic Washington Elm (92). Under this tree 
George Washington first took command of the American army 
on the third of July, 1775. Next to the elm is Fay House (93), 
the home of Radcliffe College, where the Rev. Samuel Gilman 
wrote the words of "Fair Harvard" for the two hundredth anni- 
versary of Harvard College in 1836. At one time Edward Everett 
lived here. Radcliffe College, of which Fay House is the main 
building, is a college for women identified more or less closely wdth 
Harvard University and was formerly known as the Harvard Annex. 



144 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

It dates from 1879, Across the street is the Shepard Memorial 
Church (94), with a spire crowned by the cockerel vane which 
formerly stood on the "Cockerel Church" in the North End of 
Boston. 

We shall turn down Garden Street to the left for a short distance 
until we reach God's Acre (95), the ancient cemetery dating from 
1636, the year of the foundation of the college. Here Ue buried 
Stephen Daye, who set up the first printing press in America; 
Presidents Dunster, Chauncy, and Willard; Daniel Gookin, John 
Eliot's associate in his work among the Indians; the Rev. Thomas 
Shepard; three of the Cambridge Minutemen killed in the fight on 
the 19th of April; and Governor Belcher. A monument to the 
Vassalls stands in the graveyard. God's Acre stands between the 
First Parish Meeting House (96) and Christ Church (97). 
The First Parish Meeting House is the descendant of the first 
meeting house in the town, built in 1632. The date of the present 
edifice's erection is 1833. In its predecessor the first Provincial 
Congress assembled, which organized the Minutemen and the 
Committee of Safety. Here also commencement exercises of 
Harvard College were held for over seventy years. The site of 
this earUer church is in the College Yard near Dane Hall. 
Christ Church dates from 1761, and was the first Protestant Epis- 
copal church in Cambridge. The architect was Peter Harrison, 
who designed King's Chapel in Boston. (See Walk I.) It was 
used for barracks at the beginning of the Revolution, ajid here on 
the last Sunday of 1775, George and Martha Washington attended 
a special service. In Revolutionary days the organ pipes of the 
church were melted into bullets, and in the vestibule is the mark of 
a Revolutionary bullet. The interior is interesting to the visitor. 
Here is the tomb of the Vassalls marked by a low mound on the 
floor of the church. On the sidewalk before the burying ground is 
an old milestone, with the inscription, "Boston, 8 miles 1734," 
recalling the days when the only route to Boston was by way of 
Brighton and Roxbury. 

Let us now retrace our steps up Garden Street as far as Mason 
Street, down which we will turn to the left until we reach Brattle 
Street, with its many interesting historical and literary associations. 
If we were to continue up Garden Street for about half a mile we 
should reach the Harvard Astronomical Observatory (No. 99), 



CAMBRIDGE AND HARVARD UNIVERSITY 145 

and on Linnsean Street is the Harvard Botanic Garden (100), 
open to the public daily from eight to five. Admission to the 
garden is free. It was laid out more than a century ago, and 
contains beds of Shalcespearean and Virgilian flowers among other 
quaint displays. 

Pursuing our way down Mason Street, we turn up Brattle Street 
to the right, and thus find ourselves in old "Tory Row." A few 
steps from Brattle Square is the General William Brattle House 
(101). To the right, above the corner of Mason Street, are the stone 
buildings of the Episcopal Theological School (102), founded in 
1867. Across the way, on the corner of Hawthorne Street, is the 
Henry Vassall House (103), a fine old Colonial mansion, where Dr. 
Benjamin Church was imprisoned after being arrested for treason 
because of his secret correspondence with General Gage. Opposite 
is the Longfellow House (104), with a notable history and many 
associations with the past. Built by Colonel John Vassall about 
1759, it was Washington's headquarters after he left Wadsworth 
House. Later it was owned by the widow Craigie, who let lodgings 
to Harvard professors. Here Edward Everett, Jared Sparks, and 
Worcester, the lexicographer, lived at various times; while finally 
it was the home of the poet Longfellow from 1835 until his death. 
Before it the Longfellow Memorial Park (105) stretches down 
to Mount Aul^urn Street and the bank of the Charles River. The 
poet's study was the large front room at the right of the hall. The 
rooms behind were used by Washington for his offices, and later 
were occupied by Longfellow's library. On the second floor the 
southeast room was Washington's bedchamber and the room 
Longfellow occupied when he lodged here with the widow Craigie. 

All the fine marsions along Brattle Street at this point were 
occupied by wealthy Tories, who formed a little aristocracy of their 
own, and became refugees when the Revolution broke out. The 
next house above the Longfellow mansion (No. 149) was the house 
of the Baroness Riedesel (106), which she and her husband, 
General Riedesel, occupied after the surrender of Burgoyne. It 
was built by Richard Lechmere in 1760. It was subsequently 
moved to the corner of Riedesel Avenue. At the time the top story 
was cut off, but part of it is still to be seen in the present house. 
Brattle Street soon meets Craigie Street, which runs off to the right, 
and the first thoroughfare off Craigie Street, on the left, is Bucking- 



146 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

ham Street. At No. 29 Buckingham Street was the home of 
Thomas Wentworth Higginson (107) (hiring the last years of his 
Hfe. No. 295 Brattle Street is the homie of Josephine Preston 
Peabody Marks (108), the well-known poet, and was formerly 
occupied by Arnold Dolmetsch. 

Continuing dow^n Brattle Street, we soon come to the corner of 
Ehnwood Avenue at the end of Tory Row. Here is the birthplace 
and home of James Russell Lowell (109), in a secluded grove. 
Built in 1774 by Lieutenant-Governor Thomas Oliver, it was used 
as a hospital after the Battle of Bunker Hill. The patriot Elbridge 
Gerry lived there after 1793 from time to time, and then it passed 
into the hands of Lowell's father. The poet's study was on the third 
floor, and on a window})ane in this room is cut the inscription, 
"Libertas, 1776." 

Two or three minutes' walk along Mount Auburn Street brings 
us to Mount Auburn Cemetery, where so many of the illustrious 
dead now rest. It would be vain to point out all the tombs and 
graves of distinguished people, or to arrange any route which 
would show them to the visitor. To explore them all would take 
a couple of days, for there are thirty miles of roads and paths in 
the cemetery. Some few of the most important graves, however, 
can be visited in an hour's walk, and the situation of some of the 
more important among the others may be noted. 

Entering by the main gate on Mount Auburn Street, we i^ass the 
new chapel, and turn to the left down Fountain Avenue, on the right 
side of which are the simple stones marking the graves of James 
Russell Lowell, his father, and three of his nephews killed in the 
Civil War. Lime Avenue opens off to the left a little beyond, 
and taking the right spur of it, a few steps bring us to the grave of 
Oliver Wendell Holmes. Returning to the beginning of Fountain 
Avenue, we may take the first path above the avenue on the left 
(Indian Ridge Path), and soon come to the grave of Henry Wads- 
worth Longfellow on the left. Returning once more to the avenue, 
climbing the hill, we pass the grave of Nathaniel Bowditch, the 
mathematician, and come to the old chapel, now used as a crematory, 
facing which is the famous Sphinx, by Martin Milmore, commemorat- 
ing those who fell in the Civil War. Taking the main avenue to 
the right past the chapel and Sphinx, we pass the grave, on the left, 
of Robert Gould Shaw, whose life is commemorated in the Shaw 




14^ 



CAMBRIDGE AND HARVARD UNIVERSITY 149 

Memorial on Boston Common. On Green Briar Path, a little beyond 
to the left, is the grave of William Ellery Channing, the pioneer of 
American Unitarianism. If we follow Green Briar Path it will 
bring us to Fir Avenue, which we may take to the left, and thus 
reach Mimosa Path, up which to the left is the grave of Phillips 
Brooks. We follow the path to Spruce Avenue, and then proceed 
to the left, passing the last resting place of Dr. W. T. G. Morton, 
the discoverer of the use of ether as an anaesthetic in surgical opera- 
tions. On Anemone Path, some distance on to the left, is the grave 
of Edwin Booth. Pyrola Path, parallel with it and beyond, has a 
monument to Margaret Fuller, while on the next path, Bellwort 
Path, are the graves of Edwin P. Whipple, Louis Agassiz, and Charles 
Bulfinch. Opposite Bellwort Path is the grave of Theodore Thomas, 
marked by a beautiful Celtic cross. At the foot of Spruce Avenue, 
we turn up Eagle Avenue for a yard or two, and continue down 
Magnolia Avenue to the grave of Edward Everett. Returning up 
Walnut Avenue, we come to Arethusa Path, with the grave of 
Charles Sumner, and from there, if we wish, we may climb to the 
tower, and ascend it for the fine view. Incidentally we may note the 
general direction of the gate, and thus leave the cemetery, unless 
we wish to explore the graves of others who lie buried here. 
Among such others are Rufus Choate and Nathaniel P. WiUis on 
Walnut Avenue, not far from Sumner's grave; Mr. and Mrs. James T. 
Fields on Elder Path, between Spruce and Walnut Avenues ; Charlotte 
Cushman on Palm Avenue; Samuel G. Howe and Julia Ward Howe 
near Pine Avenue; and Thomas Wentworth Higginson, William 
Warren, Spurzheim the phrenologist, Jared Sparks, and Mary 
Baker G. Eddy. In the chapel by the gate are fine statues of 
John Winthrop by Horatio Greenough, James Otis by Thomas 
Crawford, John Adams by Randolph Rogers, and Judge Joseph 
Story by his son, William W. Story. Leaving by this gate, any 
inbound trolley car will bring us back to Harvard Square, con- 
necting with a tunnel train to Boston. 




THOREAU EMERSON HAWTHORNE 

VIII 

A WALK ABOUT LEXINGTON AND CONCORD 

The trip to Lexington and Concord is best made by trolley, leaving 
Harvard Square Subway Station or Sullivan Square Elevated 
Station and passing through Arlington Center and Arlington Heights. 
Harvard Square is reached directly from Park Street by Cambridge 
Tunnel train. Sullivan Square is reached directly from any Wash- 
ington Street Tunnel Station by northbound train. Whichever route 
we take, we reach Arlington Center at the same point, namelj', 
the " Arlington House." Here stood Cooper's Tavern, in which 
Jabez Wyman and Jason Winship were killed by the British on the 
19th of April, 1775. Just beyond, at the corner of Pleasant Street, 
is a tablet telling us that "at this spot on April 19, 1775, the old 
men of Menotomy (Arlington) captured a convoy of English sol- 
diers with supplies, on its way to join the British at Lexington." 
On Pleasant Street, just below the church, we may catch a glimpse 
from the car of the old burying ground in which many of the 
British were buried who fell in the retreat. Not far down Pleasant 
Street on the left is the home for many years of John T. Trow- 
bridge. Near the corner of Jason Street is another tablet marking 
the "site of the house of Jason Russell, where he and eleven others 
were captured, disarmed and killed by the retreating British." 

East Lexington is reached shortly after leaving Arlington Heights. 
In the little Follen Church on the right-hand side of the avenue 
Emerson sometimes preached. At the corner of Pleasant Street a 
tablet marks the place where Benjamin Wellington, the first armed 
man of the Revolution, was taken by the British. Beyond, on the 

150 



LEXINGTON AND CONCORD 151 

right, is a house marked by a tablet which tells us that it was the 
" home of Jonathan Harrington, the last survivor of the Battle 
of Lexington." A little beyond, at the corner of Maple Street, is 
the house in which he lived at the time of the battle. 

Just beyond Munroe's Station is Munroe's Tavern, built in 
1695, and Earl Percy's headquarters and hospital on the day of 
the battle. The hospital was in the room on the left of the entrance, 
and this room also served as Percy's headquarters. Opposite it 
on the right was the taproom, and a bullet hole made by the British 
may still be seen in the ceiling of the room. In November, 1789, 
Washington dined in a room in the southeast corner of the second 
story. 

The hill beyond on the left was crowned by British fieldpieces, 
and near it several houses were burned. A little beyond to the right 
is the old Town Hall, near which Earl Percy, with reinforcements, 
planted a fieldpiece to cover the retreat of the British troops. The 
spot is marked by stone cannon. A moment's walk brings us to 
Lexington Common, at the lower end of which is a stone pulpit 
designed to mark the site of the first three meeting houses of 
Lexington, built in 1692, 1713, and 1794 respectively. The elm 
which shades it was planted on the centennial of the battle by General 
Grant. Near by is a bronze statue of a Minuteman, gun in 
hand, standing on a rough pile of boulders. A boulder on the 
green marks the point where the Minutemen were drawn up, and 
on it are inscribed the words of Captain Parker : "Stand your ground. 
Don't fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it 
begin here." On the right of the Green is the old Buckman 
Tavern, which served as the Minutemen's rendezvous. Shots 
were fired from it during the battle, and it was a mark for British 
bullets. It was built in 1690, and here two wounded British soldiers 
were brought at the time of the retreat, one of whom died here. The 
tavern-keeper in 1775 belonged to Captain Parker's company. 
On Elm Avenue is the house of Jonathan Harrington, who was 
wounded on the Common on the day of the battle, and dragged 
himself to the door of the house, where he died at his wife's feet. 
He is not to be confused with the Jonathan Harrington whose home 
we have already passed. Next to this house is the house of 
Daniel Harrington, the clerk of Captain Parker's company, and 
the son-in-law of the first man to be killed by British bullets. 



152 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

On the western side of the Green is the ivy-clad monument 
erected in 1799 in memory of those who fell in the battle. These 
are buried in the vault behind the monument, whither they were 
removed from the old burying ground in 1835, on the occasion when 
Edward Everett delivered his famous oration. Before this monu- 
ment Lafayette, Kossuth, and others have been formally received. 
On this site stood the first two schoolhouses of the town. Below 
the monument is the house of Marrett and Nathan Munroe, 
built in 1729, which was a witness of the battle. Caleb Harrington 
was rvmning toward this house at the time when he was shot down. 
Behind the First Parish Church (Unitarian), is a path leading as 
a boulder tells us, to " Y^ Old Burying-Ground 1690." Here 
lie buried John Hancock, grandfather of the Governor, and Jonas 
Clarke, both ministers of the meeting house, and Governor William 
Eustis, and here formerly were buried the Minutemen who fell on 
the day of the battle. Here also is a monument to Captain John 
Parker. 

Returning down Elm Avenue, we shortly reach Hancock Street, 
on the corner of which is an old building in which the first Normal 
School in America was established in 1840 by the Rev. Cyrus 
Peirce. We shall follow Hancock Street for a quarter of a mile 
until we come to the Hancock-Clarke House, bviilt in 1698, and 
the residence of the Rev. John Hancock and the Rev. Jonds Clarke. 
Here Samuel Adams and John Hancock were sleeping when aroused 
by Paul Revere on the night of his famous ride. The house is open 
freely to the public as an historical museum, and the collections 
there contained are well worth seeing. The southwest room of the 
upper story is that in which Adams and Hancock were sleeping. 
From the front windows Parson Clarke, Lydia Hancock, and 
Dorothy Quincy saw the beginning of the engagement. Hancock 
and Adams left hastily in a chaise from the ell door, while the 
ladies followed after in Hancock's coach. On the Goodwin estate, 
overlooking the Green, is a tablet on which is inscribed the following 
amiable fiction: ''On this hill Samuel Adams hearing the fire of the 
British troops, April 19, 1775, exclaimed to Hancock 'What a glorious 
morning for America!'" At the time of the firing, Samuel Adams 
and Hancock were some miles away. 

Before leaving Lexington, we must visit the Memorial Hall in 
the town house, for here is an interesting historical collection, 



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LEXINGTON AND CONCORD 155 

including Major Pitcairn's pistols, used during the Revolution by 
General Israel Putnam; the tongue of the bell which hung in the old 
belfry and rung the alarm on the day of the battle; and numerous 
other relics of the Revolution. There are four statues, m.ost notable 
of which is that of Samuel Adams, by Martin Milm.ore. In the 
Town Hall is Henry Sandham's painting of the Battle of Lexington. 
Here also is the Gary Public Library. In front of the Town Hall 
we shall take the car for Concord. 

We alight at the square by the Unitarian Church on the site 
of the old church in which the Provincial Congress met and next to 
the old Wright Tavern, dating from 1747, and visited by Major 
Pitcairn on the day of the battle. On the old Lexington Road are 
the rooms of the Concord Antiquarian Society, where may be 
seen the bed, chair, and table used by Thoreau at Walden, and 
many Colonial and Revolutionary relics. A small admission fee 
is charged. A little beyond a road leads off to the right, and fol- 
lowing it, we pass the Emerson house, where Ralph Waldo Emerson 
died, having lived there for a large part of his life. His study still 
stands, as fiar as possible unchanged, on the right of the entrance 
hall. Retracing our steps, and continuing down Lexington Street, 
we come to the Orchard House, where the Alcotts lived for twenty 
years. Here A. Bronson Alcott held some of his famous conver- 
sations, and here Louisa M. Alcott wrote "Little W^omen." Next 
to it is the Concord School of Philosophy, famous as the "Hill- 
side Chapel." Just beyond these buildings is " The Wayside," 
where Hawthorne lived from 1852 until his death in 1864. Here 
the Alcotts also lived for a time. Behind the house a ridge ri.ses 
sharply, on the crest of which was Hawthorne's Walk. The next 
house beyond is Grapevine Cottage. Here the famous Concord 
Grape originated. 

Starting out once more from the square, we enter the Hillside 
Burying Ground, where Major John Buttrick is buried. Many 
of the inscriptions are interesting. Leaving this burying ground, 
and turning the corner by the Catholic Church, we soon come to 
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, where Hawthorne, Emerson, Thoreau, 
and the Alcotts are buried near one another. 

On Monument Street, leading off from the square in another direc- 
tion past the historic Colonial Inn, with its interesting memorials 
of former days, we come after about fifteen minutes to the Old 



156 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

Manse, built in 1765, and the home of Hawthorne and Emerson. 
Emerson's grandfather, who is bmned in the Hillside Bmying Ground, 
lived here, and his wife saw from a window the fight at Concord 
Bridge. Here Emerson boarded in 1834-35 with his grandparents, 
and Hawthorne lived here after his marriage until 1846. On the 
second floor above the dining-room was Hawthorne's study, where 
Emerson wrote his essay on "Nature." Just beyond the Old Manse 
a lane leads off to the left, which brings us to the battlefield. 

The Battle Monument marks the position of the British; Daniel 
C. French's statue of the Minuteman on the opposite bank marks 
that of the x\mericans. Near the monument a stone marks the 
grave of two unknown British soldiers who fell during the fight. 
The Battle Bridge is in part a reproduction of the Old North 
Bridge. On the statue of the Minuteman, which is French's mas- 
terpiece, is inscribed the opening stanza of Emerson's hymn, written 
for the dedication of the Battle Monument: 

"B}' the rude bridge that arched the flood 

Their flag to April's breeze unfurled, 

Here once the embattled farmers stood. 

And fired the shot heard round the world." 

The pedestal is a block from the same boulder from which the 
Battle Monument was taken, and the statue was cast from the metal 
of ten brass cannon given to Concord by Congress. 

Let us now retrace our steps, and after crossing the railroad 
tracks turn to the right, and then to the left. We shall thus pass 
the site of the house of Peter Bulkeley. A tablet tells us that "Here 
in the house of the Reverend Peter Bulkeley, first minister and one 
of the founders of this town, a bargain was made with the Squaw 
Sachem, the Sagamore Tahattawanx and other Indians, who then 
sold the right in the Six Miles Square called Concord to the English 
planters and gave them peaceful possession of the land, A.D. 1636." 

Returning along this street to the square, we cross it once more 
and turn to the right. Part of the first building beyond the bank is 
said to be the first blockhouse against the Indians built by the 
first settlers of Concord. Beyond is the Concord Public Library, 
containing many interesting literary memorials, and a fine statue 
of Ralph Waldo Emerson, while the fourth house beyond the block- 
house is the Hoar House, the home of the celebrated family of that 




15- 



LEXINGTON AND CONCORD 159 

name, and the birthplace of the late Judge Hoar and Senator Hoar. 
Near the corner of Thoreau Street on the left is the Thoreau House, 
where Thoreau lived for twelve years and where he died, and the 
home of the Alcotts for many years. Somewhat beyond, to the 
right of this street, is the home of Mr. Frank B. Sanborn, the 
last of the Transcendentalists. Thoreau was born in a house which 
still stands on the Virginia Road, but it is outside the limits of our 
walk. 

If the visitor has time he may make an interesting excursion to 
the shores of Lake Walden. Leaving the square, he must turn his 
steps in the direction of the Emerson house, and then turn down 
Heywood Street to Walden Street, which is to be followed for about 
a mile to the left past Thoreau Street. Then having climbed a hill, 
the way is over a wood road for about three quarters of a mile to 
the shore of the pond. Here a cairn marks the site of the hut 
which Thoreau built in 1845, and in which he lived for the two 
years which followed. We may return to the square and there 
take the electrics for Boston, or Thoreau Street will bring us to the 
Boston & Maine Railroad Station. 



SOME BOSTON CHURCHES 

Arlington Street Church, Congregational Unitarian, Arlington 
and Boylston Streets. 

Barnard Memorial, Congregational Unitarian, 10 Warrenton 
Street. 

Beacon Universalist Church, Coolidge Corner. 
Boston Society of the New Jerusalem Church, Swedenborgian, 
13G Bowdoin Street. 

Bulfinch Place Church, Congregational Unitarian, Bulfinch Place. 
Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Roman Catholic, Washington and 

Union Park Streets. 
Central Church, Congregational Trinitarian, Newbury and 

Berkeley Streets. 
Christ Church, Protestant Episcopal, Salem Street. 
Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, usually known as The 

Mission Church, Roman Catholic, Tremont and St. Alphonsus 

Streets, Roxbiiry. 
Church of St. John the Evangelist, Protestant Episcopal, 

Bowdoin Street. 
Church of the Advent, Protestant Episcopal, Brimmer and 

Mount Vernon Streets. 

Church of the Disciples, Congregational Unitarian, Peterboro and 

Jersey Streets, Fenway. 
Church of the Holy Trinity, German Roman Catholic, 140 

Shawmut Avenue. 

Church of the Immaculate Conception, Roman Catholic, 
Harrison Avenue and East Concord Street. 

Church of the Messiah, Protestant Episcopal, St. Stephen and 

Gainsborough Streets. 
Clarendon Street Church, Baptist, Clarendon and Montgomery 

Streets. 

Emmanuel Church, Protestant Episcopal, Newbury Street, 
between Arlington and Berkeley Streets. 
160 



SOME BOSTON CHURCHES 161 

First Baptist Church, Commonwealth Avenue and Clarendon 

Streets. 
First Church, Methodist Episcopal, Temple Street. 
First Church in Boston, Congregational Unitarian, Berkeley and 

Marlborough Streets. 
First Church of Christ, Scientist, Norway and Falmouth Streets. 
First Congregational Society, Unitarian, Centre Street, Jamaica 

Plain. 
First Parish in Dorchester, Congregational Unitarian, Meeting- 
house Hill. 
First Presbyterian Church, Columbus Avenue and Berkeley 

Street. 
First Religious Society, Congregational Unitarian, Eliot Square, 

Roxbury. 
Friends' Meeting House, 210 Townsend Street, Roxbury. 
King's Chapel, Congregational Unitarian, School and Tremont 

Streets. 
Mount Vernon Church, Congregational Trinitarian, Beacon Street 

and Massachusetts Avenue. 
Ohabei Sholom, Jewish Synagogue, 11 Union Park Street. 
Old South Church, Congregational Trinitarian, Copley Square. 
Our Lady of Victories, French Roman Catholic, Isabella Street, 

near Columbus Avenue and Berkeley Street. 
Park Street Church, Congregational Trinitarian, Park and 

Tremont Streets. 
Parker Memorial, Congregational Unitarian, 11 Appleton Street. 
People's Temple, Methodist Episcopal, Berkeley Street and 

Columbus Avenue. 

Ruggles Street Baptist Church, 163 Ruggles Street, Roxbury. 

St. Leonard's of Port Morris, Itahan Roman Catholic, Prince 
Street, near Hanover Street. 

St. Paul's Church, Protestant Episcopal pro-cathedral, Tremont 
Street, near Park Street. 

St. Stephen's Church, Protestant Episcopal, Florence Street. 



162 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

Shawmut Church, Congregational Trinitarian, Troniont and West 

Brookline Streets. 
South Congregational Church, Congregational Unitarian, Exeter 

and Newbury Streets. 
Tabernacle Baptist Church, Bowdoin Square. 
Temple Israel, Jewish Synagogue, Commonwealth Avenue and 

Blandford Street. 
Tremont Street Methodist Episcopal Church, Tremont and 

West Concord Streets. 
Tremont Temple, Baptist, 82 Tremont Street. 
Trinity Church, Protestant Episcopal, Copley Square. 
Union Church, Congregational Trinitarian, 485 Columbus Avenue. 
Warren Avenue Baptist Church, Warren Avenue and West 

Canton Street. 




163 



SOME BOSTON HOTELS 

Adams House, 553 Washington Street. European- Rooms: 

$1.50 to U; with bath, $2.50 to $5. 
American House, Hanov^er Street. European; Rooms: $1.50 to $2. 
Avery, Washington and Avery Streets. European; Rooms : $2 up. 

Bellevue, Beacon Street, between Bowdoin and Somerset Streets. 
European; Rooms: $1.50 up. 

Brewster, Boylston Street, between Tremont and Washington 

Streets. European; Rooms: $2 up. 
Brunswick, Boylston and Clarendon Streets. American and 

European. American; Rooms: $4 up. European; Rooms: 

$1.50 up. 
Castle Square, Tremont and Chandler Streets. European; Rooms : 

$1 U}). 

Clark's, Washington, near Avery Street. European; Rooms: $1 up. 

Commonwealth, Bowdoin Street, near State House. European; 
Rooms: $1 up. 

Copley-Plaza, Copley Square. European; Rooms: $3 up. 

Copley Square, Huntington Avenue and Exeter Street. European; 

Rooms: $1 up. 
Crawford House, Brattle Street and Scollay Square. European; 

Rooms: $1 to $2. 
Essex, Atlantic Avenue and Essex Street, opposite South Station. 

European; Rooms: $1.50 up. 
Lenox, Boylston and Exeter Streets. European; Rooms: $1.50 up. 
Oxford, Huntington Avenue, near Exeter Street. American and 

European. American; Rooms: $2.50 up. European; Rooms: 

$1 up. 
Parker House, Tremont and School Streets. European; Rooms: 

$1.50 up. 
Puritan, 390 Commonwealth Avenue. American and European. 

American; Rooms: $4 up. European; Rooms: $1.50 up. 
165 



166 WALKS AND TALKS ABOUT BOSTON 

Ouincy House, Brattle Street. American and European. Ameri- 
can; Rooms: $3 up. European; Rooms: $1 up. 

Somerset, Commonwealth Avenue near Massachusetts Avenue. 
European; Rooms: $2.50 up. 

Thorndike, Boylston Street, opposite Public Garden. European; 
Rooms: $1 up. 

Touraine, Boylston and Tremont Streets. European; Rooms: 
$3 to $6. 

United States Hotel, Kingston, Lincoln, and Beach Streets. 
American and European. American; Rooms: $2.50 up. 
European; Rooms: $1. 

Vendome, Commonwealth Avenue and Dartmouth Street. 
American; Rooms: $5 up. 

Victoria, Dartmouth and Newbury Streets. European; Rooms: $2 
up. 

Westminster, Copley Square. European; Rooms: $1.50 up. 

Young's, Court Street and Court Square. European; Rooms: 
$1.50 up. 



THE BOSTON THEATRES 

Boston Opera House, Huntington Avenue. 

Castle Square, Castle Square. 

Colonial, Boylston Street, facing the Common. 

Copley, Dartmouth Street, near Copley Square. 

Hollis Street, Ho)hs Street. 

Keith's, Washington and Tremont Street entrances, near West 

Street. 
Majestic, Tremont, near Lagrange Street. 
Orpheum, Hamilton Place. 
Park Square, Park Square. 
Plymouth, Eliot Street, near Tremont Street. 
Shubert, Tremont Street, near HoUis Street. 
Tremont, Tremont Street, near Mason Street. 
Wilbur, Tremont Street, near Hollis Street. 

The Gaiety, Howard Athenaeum and Palace are homes of 
burlesque. 

The Boston, Park, Bijou Dream, St. James, Exeter Street, 

and many other theatres are devoted to moving pictures, often 
accompanied by vaudeville turns. 



167 



INDEX 



Abbott, Jacob, home, 82 
Adams, Charles Francis, home, 77 
Adams, Samuel, birthplace, 38; home. 

42 
Adams Square, 22 

Agassiz, Louis, grave, 149; home, 137 
Alcott, Louisa May, homes, 10, 82, 120 
Alcott family, graves, 155 
Aldrich, Thomas Bailey, homes. 77, S3 
Allston, Washington, home, 127 
American Academy of Arts and 

Sciences, 88 
Anderson Memorial Bridge. 128 
Andover Theological Seminary. 140 
Andros, Lady, tomb, 19 
Appleton, Thomas Gold, home, 89 
Appleton Chapel, 138 
Aquarium, 120 
"Arlington House," 150 
Arlington Street Church, 88 
Army and Navy Monument, 76 
" Atlantic Monthly," offices, 13 
Attucks Monument, Crispus, 70 
Austin Hall, 143 

Back Bay Station, 104 

Ballou, Hosea, home, 77 

Banks, Major-General, statue, 9 

Bartol, Cyrus A., home, 78 

Baseball grounds of American League, 
108 

Battle Bridge, Concord, 156 

Battle Monument, Concord, 156; Lex- 
ington, 152 

Bellev-ue, Hotel. 10 

Bellingham, Governor, residence, 16; 
tomb, 14 

Bell-in-Hand Tavern. 21 

"Bishop's Palace," 128 

Blackstone's spring, 81 

Booth, Edwin, grave, 149; house, 78 

Boston Art Club, 94 

Boston Athenaeum, 10 

Boston City Hospital, 119 

Boston College, 119 



Boston Latin School, 49, 107 

Boston Massacre, grave of victims, 15; 

scene of massacre, 24 
Boston Medical Library, 107 
Boston Museum, 19 
Boston Opera House, 108 
Boston Public Library, 94 
Boston Stock Exchange, 34 
Boston Stone, 54 
Boston Tea Party, rendezvous, 21; 

wharf. 38 
Boston Theatre, 41 
Boston LTniversity, 95; School of Law, 

9; Theological School, 81 
Botanical Museum, 140 
Bowdoin, James, tomb, 14 
Boylston Hall. 131 
Eoylston Market, 41 
Boys' English High School, 107 
Brattle, Gen. William, home, 145 
Brattle Square Church, 21 
Bridge, John, statue, 143 
Brigham Hospital, Peter Bent, 116 
British Coffee House, 34 
Bronze Lion, 139 
Brook Farm, 123 
Brooks, Phillips, grave, 149; memorial, 

95; house, 134 
Brown, Alice, homes, 78. 82 
Buckman Tavern, 151 
Bulfinch Monument, 9 
Bunch-of-Grapes Tavern, 34 
Bunker Hill ^Monument, 66 
Burgoyne, General, quarters, 13 

Cadets, Armory of First Corps of, 72 
Cambridge: City Hall, 127; English 

High School, 127; Latin School, 127; 

Public Library, 127 
Cass, Col. Thomas, statue, 88 
Castle Island, 120 
Cathedral of the Holy Cross, 119 
Central Burying Ground, 72 
Central Congregational Church, 89 
Chamber of Commerce, 37 



169 



170 



INDEX 



Channing, William EUery, grave, 149; 
home, 81; memorial, 88 

Charlestown Navy Yard, 65 

Cheever, Ezekiel, grave, 14 

Child, Francis J., home, 139 

Children's Hospital, 116 

Chilton, Mary, tomb, 19 

Choate, Rufus, grave, 149 

Christ Church, Boston, 59; Cambridge, 
144 

Church of the Disciples, 116 

City Club, 9 

City Hall. 49 

Claflin, Governor, home, 77 

Clarke, Mrs. Rebecca Parker, home, 9 

Collins, Patrick A., statue, 89 

Colonial Club, 137 

Colonial Inn, 155 

Colonial Theatre, 72 

Common, Boston, history, 75 

Conant Hall, 140 

Concert Hall, 53 

Concord: Antiquarian Society, 155; 
Public Library, 156; School of 
Philosophy, 155 

Congregational Building. 10 

" Constitution," frigate, 66 

Constitution Wharf, 64 

Coolidge Memorial Building. T. Jef- 
ferson, 139 

Copley Theatre, 104 

Copp's Hill Burying Groimd, 63 

Cornhill, 21, 22 

Cotton, Rev. John, grave, 19; home, 20 

Cotton estate, 20 

County Jail, 83 

Cromwell's Head Tavern, 49 

Cushman, Charlotte, grave, 149; home, 
67 

Custom House, 34 

Dana, Richard Henry, Sr., home, 78 
Dana, Richard Henry, 2d. home, 94 
Dane Hall, 131 
Dawes, William, tomb, 16 
Daye, Stephen, home, 131 
Deland, Margaret, homes, 81, 90 
Devens, Major-Gencral, statue, 9 
Divinity Hall, 139 



Divinity School Library, 140 

Dorchester Heights, 120 

Dudley, Thomas, grave, 119; home, 

131; memorial gate, 137 
Dunster, Henry, home, 33 
Dwight, John S., home. 82 

Eddy, Mary Baker G., grave, 149 

Edes, Benjamin, home, 22 

Eliot, John, grave, 119 

Elks, B. P. O.. 10 

Emancipation Group, 87 

Emerson, Ralph Waldo, birthplace, 42; 

grave, 155; home, 155 
Emerson Hall, 137 
Emmanuel Church, 88 
Endicott, John, home, 20; tomb, 14 
Episcopal Theological School, 145 
Ericsson, Leif, statue, 89 
Ether, demonstrated as anaesthetic, 19, 

20; monument, 88 
Everett, Edward, grave, 149; home, 42 

Faneuil, Peter, home, 42; tomb, 14 

Faneuil Hall, 22 

Fay House, 143 

Federal Building, 43 

Federal Street Church, 42 

Federal Street Theatre, 42 

Fenway Court, 116 

Fields, Mr. and Mrs. James T., graves, 

149; home, 82 
First Baptist Church, 93 
First Baptist meeting house, 57 
First blockhouse. Concord, 156 
First church in Boston, site, 32 
First Church of Boston, 89; of Charles- 
town, 65; of Christ, Scientist, 107 
First grammar school in North End, 59 
First meeting house, Cambridge, 131; 

Roxbury. 120 
First normal school in America, 152 
First Parish Church, Lexington, 152 
First Parish Meeting House, Cam- 
bridge, 144 
First three meeting houses in Lexington, 

151 
First writing school in North End, 59 
Fogg Museum of Art. 138 



INDEX 



171 



Ford Hall, 9 

Forest Hills Cemetery, 124 

Forsyth Dental Infirmary, 108 

Fort Hill Square, 37 

Fort Independence, 123 

Foster, John, home, 64 

Frankland, Sir Harry, home, 58 

Franklin, Benjamin, birthplace, 43; 

boyhood home, 54; grave of parents, 

14; statue, 49 
Franklin, James, printing office, 21 
Franklin Union, 90 
Free writing school, first. 20 
French Huguenot Church, 49 
Frog Fond, 75 
Fuller, Margaret, birthplace, 127; 

grave, 149 

Galloupe house, 60 

Gardner Museum, Isabella Stuart, 116 

Garrison, William Lloyd, home, 120; 

office, 22; statue, 89 
General Theological Library, 77 
Germanic Museum, 139 
Gibbs Memorial Laboratory, 139 
Ginn Model Apartments, 83 
Girls' Latin School, 116 
Glover, General John, statue, 89 
God's Acre, 144 
Golden Bull Tavern, 34 
Goose, Mary, grave, 15 
Gore Hall, 128 
Granary Burying Ground, 14 
Grapevine Cottage, 155 
Grays Hall, 134 

Great House of the Governor, 65 
Green Dragon Tavern, 53 
Guiney, Louise Imogen, home, 82 

Haldimand, Lieu tenant-General, home, 

49 
Hale, Edward Everett, boyhood home, 

10; last home, 120; statue, 87 
Hamilton, Alexander, statue, 89 
Hancock, Ebenezer, office, 54 
Hancock, John, house, 76; tavern, 24; 

tomb, 14; warehouses and wharf. 64 
Hancock-Clarke House, 152 
Hancock Row, 54 



Hancock Tavern, 24 

Harrington, Daniel, home, 151 

Harrington. Jonathan, homes, 151 

Hartt, Edmund, grave, 63 

Harvard, John, house, 65; statue, 138 

Harvard University: Astronomical Ob- 
servatory, 137, 144; Botanic Garden, 
145; Co-operative Society, 131; 
Harvard Hall, 133; Law School, 140, 
143; Medical School, 83. 116; 
Stadium, 128; Union, 137 

Hastings Hall, Walter, 140 

Haven's Coffee Rooms. Mrs., 49 

Hawthorne, Nathaniel, grave, 155; 
home, 155 

Hawthorne's Walk, 155 

Head House, 120 

Hemenway Gymnasium, 143 

Hicks, John, home, 128 

Higginson, Thomas Wentworth, grave, 
149; home, 146 

Hillard, George S., home, 82 

Hillside Burying Ground, Concord, 
155 

Hoar House, 156 

Holden Chapel, 133 

HoUis Hall, 133 

Hollis Street Theatre. 72 

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, birthplace, 
143; grave, 146; homes, 15, 83, 93 

Holmes Field, 140 

Holworthy Hall, 134 

Holyoke Hall, 131 

Hooker, Major-General, statue, 6 

Horticultural Hall, 108 

Hotel Bellevue, 10 

Hotel Touraine, 70 

Howard Athenaeum, 84 

Howe, General, headquarters, 43 

Howe, Julia Ward, grave, 149; homes, 
72, 77, 93 

Howells, William Dean, homes, 82, 94 

Hull, John, homes, 20, 60; tomb, 14 

Huntington Avenue Station, 104 

Hutchinson, Governor, mansion, 58 

Hutchin.sons, the, tomb, 63 

Jackson, Francis, home, 72 
James, Henry, home, 9 



172 



INDEX 



Jarvis Field, 140 

Jefferson Physical Laboratory, 140 

Jeffrey, Patrick, home, 20 

Keayne, Capt. Robert, house and lot, 

33; tomb, 19 
Keith's Theatre, 41, 70 
King's Chapel, 16 
King's Chapel Burying Ground, 16 
Knox, Gen. Henry, birthplace, 38 

L Street Bath Houses, 123 

Lake, Capt. Thomas, grave, 63 

Lamb Tavern, 41 

Lampoon, Office of Harvard, 128 

Langdell Hall, 140 

Lathrop, George Parsons, home, 78 

Lawrence Scientific School, 143 

Leverett, John, grave. 19; home, 33 

Lexington Common, 151 

" Liberator," offices, 22, 43 

Liberty Tree, 41 

Liberty Tree Tavern, 41 

Lind, Jenny, house in which she was 

married, 82 
Lodge, Henry Cabot, home, 77 
Long, John D., home, 81 
Long Wharf, 34 
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, grave, 

146; home, 145 
Longfellow Bridge, 83 
Longfellow Memorial Park, 145 
Louis Philippe, home, 53 
Louisburg Square, 81 
Lowell, James Russell, grave, 146; 

home, 146 
Lowell, Percival, home, 78 

Main Gate, Harvard Yard, 132 

Main Guardhouse, 33 

Majestic Theatre, 70 

Malcom, Capt. Daniel, grave, 63 

Mann, Horace, home, 9 

Manual Training School, 128 

Marine Park. 120 

Marks, Josephine Preston Peabody, 

home, 146 
Masonic Temple, 70 



Massachusetts Charitable Eye and Ear 
Infirmary, 83; Nurses' Home, S3 

Massachusetts General Ho.spital, 83 

Massachusetts Hall, 132 

Massachusetts Historical Society, 107 

Massachusetts Homoeopathic Hospital, 
119 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 
90 

Massachusetts Normal Art School, 94 

Mather, Increase, home, 59 

Mather family, tomb, 63 

Matthews Hall, 134 

Mechanic Arts High School, 107 

Mechanics Building, 107 

Melville, Thomas, grave, 19 

Memorial Hall: Cambridge, 138; Lex- 
ington, 152 

Mineralogical Museum, 140 

Ministers' homestead, Cambridge, 131 

Minuteman Statue: Concord, 156; 
Lexington, 151 

Molineux, Hawthorne's Major, home. 6 

Morse, Rev. Jedidiah, church, 65 

Morse. Samuel F. B., birthplace, 67 

Morton, Dr. W. T. G., discovery of 
ether as anaesthetic, 19, 20 

Motley, John Lothrop, homes, 13, 72, 
77, 78 

jSIoulton, Louise Chandler, home, 119 

Mount Auburn Cemetery, 146 

Munroe, Marrett and Nathan, home, 
152 

Munroe's Tavern, 151 

Murray's Barracks, site, 21 

Museum of Comparative Zoology, 140 

Museum of Fine Arts, 108 

Music Hall, 14 

Musical Building, Harvard University, 
143 

Natural History Museum, 90 

Navy Yard, 65 

New Church Theological School, 139 

New England Conservatory of Music, 

108 
New England Historic Genealogical 

Society, 9 
Newman, Robert, home, 60 



INDEX 



173 



Newman House, 134 
New Old South Church, 94 
Nook Hill, 120 
Normal School, 116 
North Battery, 64 

Oak under which Governors were 
elected, site, 143 

Old Burying Ground: Arlington. 150; 
Charlestown, 67; Lexington, 152; 
Roxbury. 119 

Old Corner Bookstore, 48 

Old Court House, 20 

Old Custom House, 37 

Old Elm, Boston Common, 75 

Old Manse, 156 

Old North Church. 58 

Old South Meeting House, 43 

Old State House, 27 

Old Town Hall, Lexington, 151 

Old West Church, 84 

Orange Tree Tavern, 53 

Orchard House, 155 

O'Reilly, John Boyle, home, 66; monu- 
ment, 107 

Otis, James, grave, 14 

Paine, Robert Treat, grave, 14 

Painters' Arms, 54 

Palfrey, John G., homes, 78, 140 

Parade Ground, 76 

Park Square Theatre, 87 

Park Street Church, 13 

Park Theatre, 41 

Parker, Theodore, church, 123; home, 

123 
Parker House, 15 
Parkman, Francis, home, 78 
Parkman bandstand, 75 
Parsons, Dr. Thomas W., homes, 42, 78 
Peabody, Elizabeth, home, 82 
Peabody, Dr. Nathaniel, home, 41 
Peabody House. 83 
Peabody Museum, 140 
Perkins Hall, 140 

Perkins Institution for the Blind, 120 
Phillips, John, grave, 15 
Phillips, Wendell, birthplace, 76; homes, 

41, 72; statue, 88 



Phillips Brooks House, 134 

Phillips Brooks Memorial, 95 

Phips mansions, 64, 128 

Pierce Hall, 140 

Pillory, 33 

Plymouth Theatre, 72 

Poe, Edgar Allan, birthplace, 72 

Prescott, Col. William, statue. 67 

Prescott, William Hickling, home, 76 

President's residence, Harvard Yard, 

137 
Prospect Union, 127 
Province House, 48 
Prynne, Hester, grave, 19 
Public Garden, 87 
Putnam, Gen. Israel, headquarters, 127 

Quakers: first meeting house, 21; gal- 
lows on which they were hanged, 119 
Quincy, Josiah, statue, 49 
Quincy Market, 23 



Radcliffe College, 143 

Radical Club, 78 

Randall Hall, 139 

Red Lion Inn, 57 

Revere, Paul: foundry. 64; grave, 14; 

homes, 57, 64 
Revere House, 84 
Riedesel, Baroness, home, 145 
Robinson Hall, 138 
Roebuck Tavern, 34 
Ropes, J. C, home, 81 
Rotch Astronomical Building, 140 
Rowe's Wharf, 38 

Rowson, Susanna, home and schooL 72 
Roxbury: Latin School, 120; Upper 

Fort, 120 
Royal Custom Houses, 20, 24 
Royal Exchange Tavern, 24 
Rumford, Count, shop, 54 
Russell, Jason, home, 150 

St. Botolph Club, 88 
St. Margaret's Hospital, 82 
St. Paul's Church, 70 
Salt House, 37 



174 



INDEX 



Sanborn, Frank B., home, 159 

Scaffold, 27 

Second Church, site, 94 

Second meeting house, site. 32 

Semitic Museum, 139 

Sever Hall, 138 

Sewell, Samuel, homes, 20, 42; tomb, 14 

Sewing machine, invention of, 22 

Shaw, Robert Gould, grave, 146 

Shaw Memorial, 6 

Shepard Memorial Church, 144 

Shubert Theatre, 70 

Simmons College, 116 

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, 155 

Smibert, John, studio, 20 

Smith, Samuel F., birthplace, 60 

Smith Court, 77 

Smith Halls, Persis, George, and James, 

128 
Soldiers' Monument, 143 
Somerset Club, 76 
South Congregational Church, 94 
South Terminal Station, 38 
Sparks. Jared, homes, 9. 139 
Spofford, Harriet Prescott, home, 84 
Spring, Great. 48 
Stadium, 128 
Standish Hall, 128 
State House, 1 
Steinert Hall, 72 
Stock Exchange. 34 
Stocks, 33 
Stoddard House, 60 
Stoughton Hall, 133 
Stowe, Harriet Beecher, home, 84 
Stuart, Gilbert, grave, 72; home, 38 
Suffolk County Court House, 9 
Sumner, Charles, grave, 149; home, 84; 

statues, 88, 143 
Symphony Hall, 108 

Taylor's Bethel, Father, 58 

Telephone, first message, 41; first in- 
vented, 84 

Thaxter, Celia, home, 82 

Thayer Hall, 134 

Thomas. Theodore, grave, 149 

Thoreau, Henry D., grave, 155; homes, 
60, 159; hut, 159 



Thoreau family, home. 60 
Ticknor, George, home, 13 
Tileston, John, home, 60 
Town Dock, 22 
Tremont House, 16 
Tremont Temple, 15 
Tremont Theatre, 70 
Trinity Church. 42, 94, 95; rectory, 93 
Trinity Place Station, 104 
Trowbridge, John T., home, 150 
Trumbull, Col. John, home, 20 
Tufts College Medical and Dental 
School, 108 



"Uncle Tom's Cabin," where first 

printed. 22 
Union Club, 13 
Unitarian Building, 13 
Unitarian Church, Concord, 155 
University Boat Club, 128 
University Hall, 134 
Upsall, Nicholas, grave, 63 



Vane, Sir Harry, home, 20 
Vassal 1 House, Henry, 145 

Wads worth House. 131 

Walden. Lake, 1.59 

Warren, Gen. Joseph, birthplace, 12U; 

home, 53 
Washington, George, statue, 88 
Washington Elm, 143 
Wayside, The, 155 
Webster, Daniel, home, 42 
Weld Boat Club, 128 
Weld Hall, 134 
Wentworth Institute, 116 
West Gate, Harvard Yard. 132 
Whipple, Edwin P., home, 82 
White Horse Tavern, 41 
Whitney, A. D. T.. home, 81 
Whitney, Anne, home, 81 
Widener Library, 134 
Wilbur Theatre, 70 
Wilson, Rev. John, home, 33 
Winslow, John, tomb, 19 
Winslow, Rear Admiral, home, 120 



INDEX 175 

Winthrop. John, garden, 43; grave, 19; Young Men's Christian Association, 

home, 43; statue, 89 Boston, 108; Cambridge, 127 

Winthrop Square, 66 Young Men's Christian Union, 70 

Woodbridge, Benjamin, grave. 14 Young Women's Christian Association 

Worthylake family, graves, 63 90 
Wright Tavern, 155 



